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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 Hopkins Beach (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 Hopkins Beach. 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 Hopkins Beach ...

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 occur.

  • A typical abbreviation for Hopkins Beach: Hopkins Bch.
  • While the name of this community is Hopkins Beach, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Hopkins Beach may originally have been Hopkin's Beach.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Hopkins Beach might be written as Hopkin Beach.

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 northwest 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 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.

Hopkins Beach is located in Niagara 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 Niagara County: Erie, Genesee & Orleans.

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

  • Niagara County     (The home county of Hopkins Beach)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hopkins Beach, with the one closest to Hopkins Beach listed first.
    • Roosevelt Beach
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Roosevelt Beach is located in Niagara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roosevelt Beach
    • Wilson
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Ransomville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Pleasant Corners
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Pleasant Corners is located in Niagara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Corners
    • Harrison Grove
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Harrison Grove is located in Niagara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison Grove
    • Porter Center
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Porter Center is located in Niagara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter Center
    • Coomer
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Coomer is located in Niagara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coomer
    • Dickersonville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Dickersonville is located in Niagara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickersonville
    • Warrens Corners
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Warrens Corners is located in Niagara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrens Corners
    • Youngstown
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Newfane
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Olcott
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Model City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Erie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hopkins Beach, with the one closest to Hopkins Beach listed first.
    • Tonawanda
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Getzville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Swormville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Swormville is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swormville
    • Grandyle Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Grandyle Village is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandyle Village
    • Wolcottsburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Wolcottsburg is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolcottsburg
    • Amherst
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Ferry Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Ferry Village is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferry Village
    • Kenmore
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Clarence Center
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Williamsville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Harris Hill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Harris Hill is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Hill
    • Bowmansville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Akron Junction
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Akron Junction is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akron Junction
  • Genesee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hopkins Beach, with the one closest to Hopkins Beach listed first.
    • Amherst
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Amherst is located in Genesee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst
    • Alabama
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Alabama is located in Genesee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alabama
    • Basom
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Wheatville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Wheatville is located in Genesee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatville
  • Orleans County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hopkins Beach, with the one closest to Hopkins Beach listed first.
    • Jeddo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Jeddo is located in Orleans County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeddo
    • Lakewood Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Lakewood Village is located in Orleans County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood Village
    • Lyndonville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Medina
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Shadigee
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Shadigee is located in Orleans County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadigee
    • Kenyonville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Kenyonville is located in Orleans County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenyonville

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

Cemeteries Near Hopkins Beach ...

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

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 Hopkins Beach - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Hopkins Beach covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Halsted Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Oakland Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Towers Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • North Ridge Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • St. Peter Lutheran Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Molyneaux Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Ft. Niagara Post Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • St. Bernards Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Dickersonville Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (240 more) ...
    • Northeast Cambria Union Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Lakeview Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • West Lake Road Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)

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>

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

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

  • Wilson
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Ransomville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • South Wilson
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • South Wilson is located in Niagara County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Wilson
  • North Ridge
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • North Ridge is located in Niagara County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Ridge
  • East Wilson
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • East Wilson is located in Niagara County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Wilson
  • Coomer
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Coomer is located in Niagara County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coomer
  • Youngstown
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Warrens Corners
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Warrens Corners is located in Niagara County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrens Corners
  • Pekin
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Pekin is located in Niagara County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pekin
  • Newfane
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Olcott
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Hickory Corners
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Hickory Corners is located in Niagara County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Corners
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Lewiston
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Sanborn
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Lockport Junction
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Lockport Junction is located in Niagara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockport Junction

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

Newspapers Published in Hopkins Beach ...

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 44 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hopkins Beach.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Hopkins Beach, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Hopkins Beach.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Hopkins Beach:

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 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>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- Hopkins Beach) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Hopkins Beach, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.