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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 Belle Ayr (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 Belle Ayr. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Belle Ayr is located in Ulster 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 Ulster County: Columbia, Delaware, Dutchess, Greene, Orange & Sullivan.

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

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

Cemeteries Near Belle Ayr ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Belle Ayr.

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

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

  • Haynes Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Lake Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lake Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lake Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Baker Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Baker Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Baker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Banks - Eighmy Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Banks - Eighmy Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Banks - Eighmy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Arkville Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Arkville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Arkville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Clovesville Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clovesville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Clovesville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sanford Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sanford Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sanford Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bedell Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bedell Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bedell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Halcottsville Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Halcottsville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Halcottsville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Scudder Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Scudder Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Scudder Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lew Beach Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Davidson Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (229 more) ...

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, Belle Ayr had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Hardenburg
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hardenburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardenburg
    • Hardenburg is located in Ulster County
  • Margaretville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Margaretville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Margaretville
    • Margaretville is located in Delaware County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 541 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Margaretville <1>
  • Arkville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arkville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkville
    • Arkville is located in Delaware County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arkville <1>
  • Turnwood
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Turnwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnwood
    • Turnwood is located in Ulster County
  • Fleischmanns
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fleischmanns have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleischmanns
    • Fleischmanns is located in Delaware County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 308 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fleischmanns <1>
  • Dunraven
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dunraven have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunraven
    • Dunraven is located in Delaware County
  • Frost Valley
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frost Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost Valley
    • Frost Valley is located in Ulster County
  • Oliverea
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Pine Hill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Hill
    • Pine Hill is located in Ulster County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pine Hill <1>
  • Highmount
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Arena ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Arena. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arena
    • Arena is located in Delaware County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Arena
    • From Belle Ayr to Arena
  • Branch
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Branch. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branch
    • Branch is located in Ulster County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Branch
    • From Belle Ayr to Branch
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Belle Ayr ...

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 82 newspapers that have been published in the area around Belle Ayr.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Belle Ayr, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Belle Ayr.

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 Belle Ayr:

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

The official website for Ulster County: www.co.ulster.ny.us/

The official website for State of New York: https://www.ny.gov/

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 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>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>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 Belle Ayr, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Belle Ayr) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Belle Ayr. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.0718, Longitude: -74.6094       In this case, the coordinates for Belle Ayr have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025