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 Billings (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 Billings. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and 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.
Billings is located in Dutchess County.
To see how the shape of New York's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Dutchess County: Fairfield (CT), Litchfield (CT), Berkshire (MA), Columbia, Orange, Putnam & Ulster.
Below are the counties that are near Billings. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Billings:
- Dutchess County (The home county of Billings)
- The following are listed by their distance from Billings, with the one closest to Billings listed first.
- Lagrangeville
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Freedom Plains
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Freedom Plains is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom Plains
- Arthursburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Arthursburg is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthursburg
- Noxon
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Noxon is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noxon
- Clove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Clove is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clove
- Verbank Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Verbank Village is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verbank Village
- Verbank
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sylvan Lake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Sylvan Lake is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvan Lake
- Beekman
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Beekman is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beekman
- Hillside Lake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hillside Lake is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillside Lake
- North Clove
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- North Clove is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Clove
- Pleasant Valley
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Manchester Bridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Manchester Bridge is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester Bridge
- Columbia County
- The following are listed by their distance from Billings, with the one closest to Billings listed first.
- Silvernails
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Silvernails is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silvernails
- Ancramdale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Ancram
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Elizaville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Suydam ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Suydam is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suydam
- Weed Mines
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Weed Mines is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weed Mines
- Greene County
- Cornwall-on-Hudson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cornwall-on-Hudson is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall-on-Hudson
- Orange County
- The following are listed by their distance from Billings, with the one closest to Billings listed first.
- Balmville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Balmville is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balmville
- Cronomer Valley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cronomer Valley is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cronomer Valley
- Newburgh
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Gardnertown
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Gardnertown is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardnertown
- Leptondale
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Leptondale is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leptondale
- Cornwall Landing
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Cornwall Landing is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall Landing
- New Windsor
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Orange Lake
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Orange Lake is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Lake
- Cornwall-on-Hudson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Andrew
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Saint Andrew is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Andrew
- Firthcliffe
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Firthcliffe is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Firthcliffe
- Vails Gate
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- West Point
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Putnam County
- The following are listed by their distance from Billings, with the one closest to Billings listed first.
- Farmers Mills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Farmers Mills is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmers Mills
- Patterson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Lake Carmel
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Lake Carmel is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Carmel
- Towners
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Towners is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Towners
- Dykemans
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Dykemans is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dykemans
- Mahopac Mines
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Mahopac Mines is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahopac Mines
- Tompkins Corners
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Tompkins Corners is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tompkins Corners
- Brewster Hill
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Brewster Hill is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewster Hill
- Putnam Lake
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Putnam Lake is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putnam Lake
- Crafts
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Crafts is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crafts
- Deforest Corners
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Deforest Corners is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deforest Corners
- Cold Spring
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Nelsonville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Nelsonville is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelsonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 632 people
- Rockland County
- Doodletown ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Doodletown is located in Rockland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doodletown
- Ulster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Billings, with the one closest to Billings listed first.
- Highland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Milton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Oakes
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Oakes is located in Ulster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakes
- Marlboro
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lloyd
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Lloyd is located in Ulster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloyd
- Clintondale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Esopus
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Plutarch
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Plutarch is located in Ulster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plutarch
- Ardonia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Ardonia is located in Ulster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ardonia
- Plattekill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Modena
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- New Paltz
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Sylva
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Sylva is located in Ulster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylva
- Westchester County
- The following are listed by their distance from Billings, with the one closest to Billings listed first.
- Heritage Hills
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Heritage Hills is located in Westchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Hills
- Jefferson Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Jefferson Village is located in Westchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson Village
- Shenorock
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Shrub Oak
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Granite Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Lake Mohegan
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Lake Mohegan is located in Westchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Mohegan
- Lincolndale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Somers
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Crompond
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Goldens Bridge
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Yorktown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Yorktown is located in Westchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorktown
- Peekskill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Twin Lakes Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Twin Lakes Village is located in Westchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes Village
- Fairfield County (CT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Billings, with the one closest to Billings listed first.
- Sherman
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Sherman is located in Fairfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,610 people
- Sherman
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ball Pond
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Ball Pond is located in Fairfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Pond
- New Fairfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- New Fairfield is located in Fairfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Fairfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,792 people
- New Fairfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Brookfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Brookfield
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Brookfield is located in Fairfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 16,900 people
- Danbury
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Danbury is located in Fairfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 84,317 people
- Brookfield Center
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Brookfield Center is located in Fairfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield Center
- Danbury
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Hawleyville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bethel
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bethel is located in Fairfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Population from the 2020 Census: 19,941 people
- Bethel
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hartford County (CT)
- Bloomfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Litchfield County (CT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Billings, with the one closest to Billings listed first.
- Bulls Bridge
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Bulls Bridge is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bulls Bridge
- New Milford
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- New Milford is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Milford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 26,683 people
- Gaylordsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Merwinsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Merwinsville is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merwinsville
- Kent
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- South Kent
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Kent
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Kent is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,766 people
- North Kent
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- North Kent is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Kent
- East Kent
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- East Kent is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Kent
- New Milford
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Northville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Northville is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northville
- Lanesville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Lanesville is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanesville
- Candlewood Lake Club
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Candlewood Lake Club is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Candlewood Lake Club
- New Haven County (CT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Billings, with the one closest to Billings listed first.
- South Britain
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Heritage Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Heritage Village is located in New Haven County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Village
- Southbury
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Southbury is located in New Haven County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 19,496 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Billings, see our County-by-County Page for Billings.
Cemeteries Near Billings ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Billings.
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 Billings - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Billings covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Billings, with the one closest to Billings listed first.
- Van Dyne Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Clove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Hopewell Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell Cemetery
- The Hopewell Cemetery has also been known as:
- Hopewell Dutch Reformed Church Cemetery
- Hopewell Reformed Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2138926 <2>
- St. Denis Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Beekman Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Temple Beth-El Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Beth-El Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- LaGrange Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Van Wyck Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Flagler Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Calvary Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Peters Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (294 more) ...
- St. Peters Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Peters Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Peters Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of Poughkeepsie.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1432561 <2>
- Haight Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Nine Partners Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
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 Billings had a population of 65 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Billings, with the one closest to Billings listed first.
- Lagrangeville
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Freedom Plains
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Freedom Plains is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom Plains
- Moores Mill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Moores Mill is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moores Mill
- Noxon
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Noxon is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noxon
- Arthursburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Arthursburg is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthursburg
- Sylvan Lake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Sylvan Lake is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvan Lake
- Beekman
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Beekman is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beekman
- Clove Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Clove Valley is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clove Valley
- Clove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Clove is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clove
- Verbank
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Verbank Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Verbank Village is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verbank Village
- Fishkill Plains
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Fishkill Plains is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishkill Plains
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Poughquag
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- North Clove
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- North Clove is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Clove
- Pleasant Valley
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Billings. See our List of 1890's Communities around Billings.
Newspapers Published in Billings ...
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 163 newspapers that have been published in the area around Billings.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Billings, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Billings.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Billings:
- Websites specific to New York
- Pages specific to Dutchess County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Columbia County
- Greene County
- Orange County
- Putnam County
- Rockland County
- Ulster County
- Westchester County
- Fairfield County
- Hartford County
- Litchfield County
- New Haven County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for New York
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> | 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- Billings) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Billings, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |