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 Colonial Heights (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 Colonial Heights. 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 Colonial Heights ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Colonial Heights: Colonial Hts. (in Canada, 'Hgts.' is the more common abbreviation.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Colonial Heights. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Colonial Heights.
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 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.
Colonial Heights 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 Colonial Heights. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Colonial Heights:
- Dutchess County (The home county of Colonial Heights)
- The following are listed by their distance from Colonial Heights, with the one closest to Colonial Heights listed first.
- Pleasant Valley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Manchester Bridge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Manchester Bridge is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester Bridge
- Arlington
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Fairview is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Poughkeepsie
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Haviland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Haviland is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haviland
- Red Oaks Mill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Red Oaks Mill is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Oaks Mill
- Freedom Plains
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Freedom Plains is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom Plains
- Spackenkill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Spackenkill is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spackenkill
- Noxon
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Noxon is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noxon
- Hyde Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lagrangeville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Crown Heights
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Crown Heights is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crown Heights
- Columbia County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colonial Heights, with the one closest to Colonial Heights listed first.
- Silvernails
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Silvernails is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silvernails
- Elizaville
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Ancram
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ancramdale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Suydam ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Suydam is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suydam
- Germantown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- West Taghkanic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- West Taghkanic is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Taghkanic
- Weed Mines
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Weed Mines is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weed Mines
- Burden
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Burden is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burden
- Glenco Mills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Glenco Mills is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenco Mills
- North Germantown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- North Germantown is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Germantown
- 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 Colonial Heights, with the one closest to Colonial Heights listed first.
- Balmville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Balmville is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balmville
- Cronomer Valley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cronomer Valley is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cronomer Valley
- Leptondale
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Leptondale is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leptondale
- Gardnertown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Gardnertown is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardnertown
- Newburgh
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Orange Lake
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Orange Lake is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Lake
- Saint Andrew
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Andrew is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Andrew
- New Windsor
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Cornwall Landing
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Cornwall Landing is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall Landing
- Cornwall-on-Hudson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Vails Gate
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Walden
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Denniston
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Denniston is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denniston
- Putnam County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colonial Heights, with the one closest to Colonial Heights listed first.
- Farmers Mills
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Farmers Mills is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmers Mills
- Lake Carmel
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Lake Carmel is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Carmel
- Patterson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Cold Spring
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Nelsonville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Nelsonville is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelsonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 632 people
- Towners
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Towners is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Towners
- Tompkins Corners
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Tompkins Corners is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tompkins Corners
- Mahopac Mines
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Mahopac Mines is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahopac Mines
- Dykemans
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Dykemans is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dykemans
- Crafts
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Crafts is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crafts
- Garrison
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Brewster Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Brewster Hill is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewster Hill
- Putnam Lake
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Putnam Lake is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putnam Lake
- Rockland County
- Doodletown ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Doodletown is located in Rockland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doodletown
- Ulster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colonial Heights, with the one closest to Colonial Heights listed first.
- Highland
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Oakes
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Oakes is located in Ulster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakes
- Milton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lloyd
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Lloyd is located in Ulster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloyd
- Esopus
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Plutarch
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Plutarch is located in Ulster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plutarch
- Marlboro
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Clintondale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Ardonia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Ardonia is located in Ulster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ardonia
- New Paltz
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Rifton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Plattekill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Modena
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Westchester County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colonial Heights, with the one closest to Colonial Heights listed first.
- Jefferson Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Jefferson Village is located in Westchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson Village
- Shrub Oak
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Heritage Hills
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Heritage Hills is located in Westchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Hills
- Lake Mohegan
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Lake Mohegan is located in Westchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Mohegan
- Lincolndale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Shenorock
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Crompond
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Granite Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Somers
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Peekskill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Yorktown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Yorktown is located in Westchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorktown
- Goldens Bridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Yorktown Heights
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Fairfield County (CT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Colonial Heights, with the one closest to Colonial Heights listed first.
- Sherman
(20 miles [32.2 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
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Ball Pond
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Ball Pond is located in Fairfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Pond
- New Fairfield
(24 miles [38.6 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
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Brookfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Brookfield Center
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Brookfield Center is located in Fairfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield Center
- Brookfield
(29 miles [46.7 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
(29 miles [46.7 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
- Danbury
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Litchfield County (CT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Colonial Heights, with the one closest to Colonial Heights listed first.
- Bulls Bridge
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Bulls Bridge is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bulls Bridge
- New Milford
(18 miles [29 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
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Kent
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Merwinsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Merwinsville is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merwinsville
- Kent
(20 miles [32.2 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
- South Kent
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- North Kent
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- North Kent is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Kent
- Sharon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- East Kent
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- East Kent is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Kent
- Ellsworth
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Ellsworth is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellsworth
- Sharon
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Sharon is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,691 people
- New Milford
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Colonial Heights, see our County-by-County Page for Colonial Heights.
Cemeteries Near Colonial Heights ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Colonial Heights.
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 Colonial Heights - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Colonial Heights covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Colonial Heights, with the one closest to Colonial Heights listed first.
- Beth-El Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Temple Beth-El Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- LaGrange Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Calvary Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Peters Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- St. Peters Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- 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 <3>
- Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ferris Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Union Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Old Presbyterian Ground
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Milton Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (264 more) ...
- Hicksite Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Van Dyne Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Stoutenberg Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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>
While we didn't find Colonial Heights in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Colonial Heights.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Colonial Heights, with the one closest to Colonial Heights listed first.
- Arlington
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Manchester Bridge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Manchester Bridge is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester Bridge
- Pleasant Valley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Poughkeepsie
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Freedom Plains
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Freedom Plains is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom Plains
- Gretna
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Gretna is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gretna
- Oakes
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Oakes is located in Ulster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakes
- Noxon
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Noxon is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noxon
- Billings
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Moores Mill
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Moores Mill is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moores Mill
- East Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- East Park is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Park
- Highland
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Milton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- New Hackensack
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- New Hackensack is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hackensack
- Lagrangeville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Colonial Heights. See our List of 1890's Communities around Colonial Heights.
Newspapers Published in Colonial Heights ...
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 191 newspapers that have been published in the area around Colonial Heights.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Colonial Heights, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Colonial Heights.
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 Colonial Heights:
- 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
- Litchfield 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Colonial Heights) 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 Colonial Heights, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |