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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 Higgins Bay (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 Higgins Bay. 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 Higgins Bay ...

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.

While the name of this community is Higgins Bay, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Higgins Bay may originally have been Higgin's Bay.

Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Higgins Bay might be written as Higgin Bay.

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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Higgins Bay is located in Hamilton 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 Hamilton County: Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Herkimer, Saint Lawrence, Saratoga & Warren.

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

  • Hamilton County     (The home county of Higgins Bay)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Higgins Bay, with the one closest to Higgins Bay listed first.
    • Piseco
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Blackbridge ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackbridge
      • Blackbridge is located in Hamilton County
    • Gilmantown
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmantown
      • Gilmantown is located in Hamilton County
    • Arietta
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arietta
      • Arietta is located in Hamilton County
    • Wells
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Speculator
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Speculator have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speculator
      • Speculator is located in Hamilton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 297 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Speculator <2>
    • Morehouseville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morehouseville
      • Morehouseville is located in Hamilton County
    • Benson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Benson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benson
      • Benson is located in Hamilton County
    • Hope
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
      • Hope is located in Hamilton County
    • Sabael
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Inlet
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Raquette Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Indian Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Fulton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Higgins Bay, with the one closest to Higgins Bay listed first.
    • Emmonsburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Emmonsburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmonsburg
      • Emmonsburg is located in Fulton County
    • Middle Sprite
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Middle Sprite. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Sprite
      • Middle Sprite is located in Fulton County
    • Jackson Summit
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Summit
      • Jackson Summit is located in Fulton County
    • Northville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Cranberry Creek
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranberry Creek
      • Cranberry Creek is located in Fulton County
    • Rockwood
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rockwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockwood
      • Rockwood is located in Fulton County
    • Garoga
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garoga
      • Garoga is located in Fulton County
    • Lassellsville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lassellsville
      • Lassellsville is located in Fulton County
    • Meco
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meco
      • Meco is located in Fulton County
    • Mayfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Gloversville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Crum Creek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crum Creek
      • Crum Creek is located in Fulton County
    • Berkshire
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Berkshire have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkshire
      • Berkshire is located in Fulton County
  • Herkimer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Higgins Bay, with the one closest to Higgins Bay listed first.
    • Gray
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gray. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gray
      • Gray is located in Herkimer County
    • Salisbury Center
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Salisbury
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Salisbury. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
      • Salisbury is located in Herkimer County
    • Dolgeville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Norway
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norway
      • Norway is located in Herkimer County
    • Cold Brook
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cold Brook have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Brook
      • Cold Brook is located in Herkimer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 302 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cold Brook <2>
    • Grant
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Grant. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant
      • Grant is located in Herkimer County
    • Northwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Northwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwood
      • Northwood is located in Herkimer County
    • Middleville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Newport
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newport have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
      • Newport is located in Herkimer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 585 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newport <2>
    • Old City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old City
      • Old City is located in Herkimer County
    • Poland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poland
      • Poland is located in Herkimer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 474 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Poland <2>
    • Russia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Russia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russia
      • Russia is located in Herkimer County
  • Montgomery County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Higgins Bay, with the one closest to Higgins Bay listed first.
    • Saint Johnsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Johnsville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johnsville
      • Saint Johnsville is located in Montgomery County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,670 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Johnsville <2>
    • Mindenville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mindenville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mindenville
      • Mindenville is located in Montgomery County
  • Saratoga County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Higgins Bay, with the one closest to Higgins Bay listed first.
    • Edinburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Edinburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edinburg
      • Edinburg is located in Saratoga County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edinburg <2>
    • Day Center
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Day Center
      • Day Center is located in Saratoga County
    • Batchellerville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batchellerville
      • Batchellerville is located in Saratoga County
  • Warren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Higgins Bay, with the one closest to Higgins Bay listed first.
    • Harrisburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg
      • Harrisburg is located in Warren County
    • Bakers Mills
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Stony Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Higgins Bay ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Higgins Bay.

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 Higgins Bay covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Fish Mtn. Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fish Mtn. Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fish Mtn. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • South Side Lake Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the South Side Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the South Side Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Spruce Hill Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Spruce Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Spruce Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wadswarth Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wadswarth Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wadswarth Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Stratford Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stratford Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stratford Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Roundtop Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Roundtop Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Roundtop Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Five Point Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Five Point Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Five Point Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Josephs Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Josephs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bleeker Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bleeker Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bleeker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Willard Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Willard Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Willard Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bleecker Center Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bleecker Center Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bleecker Center Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • 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.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (105 more) ...
    • Peck Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Peck Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Peck Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • St. Bridgett's Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Bridgett's Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Bridgett's Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Middle Sprite Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)

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.<6>

While we didn't find Higgins Bay in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Higgins Bay.

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

  • Rudeston
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rudeston have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rudeston
    • Rudeston is located in Hamilton County
  • Piseco
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Arietta
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arietta
    • Arietta is located in Hamilton County
  • Wells
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Morehouseville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morehouseville
    • Morehouseville is located in Hamilton County
  • Benson
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Benson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benson
    • Benson is located in Hamilton County
  • Hope
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
    • Hope is located in Hamilton County
  • Griffin
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Griffin have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffin
    • Griffin is located in Hamilton County
  • Stratford
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stratford have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stratford
    • Stratford is located in Fulton County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stratford <2>
  • Emmonsburg
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Emmonsburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmonsburg
    • Emmonsburg is located in Fulton County
  • Middle Sprite
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Middle Sprite. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Sprite
    • Middle Sprite is located in Fulton County
  • Lotville
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lotville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lotville
    • Lotville is located in Fulton County
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Bleecker
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bleecker have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bleecker
      • Bleecker is located in Fulton County
    • Sacandaga Park
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sacandaga Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sacandaga Park
      • Sacandaga Park is located in Fulton County
    • Gray
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gray. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gray
      • Gray is located in Herkimer County

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

Newspapers Published in Higgins Bay ...

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 110 newspapers that have been published in the area around Higgins Bay.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Higgins Bay, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<7>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Higgins Bay.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 Higgins Bay:

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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.
<5>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.
<6>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 Higgins Bay, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<7>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Higgins Bay) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Higgins Bay. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.4078, Longitude: -74.5338       In this case, the coordinates for Higgins Bay have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025