RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of New York >> Erie County >> North Collins >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 North Collins (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 North Collins. 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 North Collins ...

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 North Collins: N. Collins

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 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.

North Collins is located in Erie 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 Erie County: Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Genesee, Niagara & Wyoming.

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

  • Erie County     (The home county of North Collins)
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Collins, with the one closest to North Collins listed first.
    • Shirley
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Shirley is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shirley
    • Pontiac
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Pontiac is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pontiac
    • Eden
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Brant
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Angola
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Derby
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Lake Erie Beach
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Lake Erie Beach is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Erie Beach
    • Angola-on-the-Lake
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Angola-on-the-Lake is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angola-on-the-Lake
    • Farnham
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Water Valley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Water Valley is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Valley
    • Wyandale
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Wyandale is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyandale
    • Hamburg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Cattaraugus County
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Collins, with the one closest to North Collins listed first.
    • Gowanda
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Gowanda is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowanda
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,524 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gowanda <1>
    • Perrysburg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Cottage
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Cottage is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage
    • Persia
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Persia is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persia
    • Brooklyn
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Brooklyn is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
    • Otto
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • South Dayton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Cattaraugus
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Eddyville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Eddyville is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eddyville
    • Leon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Axeville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Axeville is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Axeville
    • Delevan
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Delevan is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delevan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,039 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Delevan <1>
  • Chautauqua County
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Collins, with the one closest to North Collins listed first.
    • Irving
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Parcells Corners
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Parcells Corners is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parcells Corners
    • Silver Creek
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Forestville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Wango
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Wango is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wango
    • Sheridan
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Dunkirk
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Dunkirk is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunkirk
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,701 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dunkirk <1>
    • Cherry Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Fredonia
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Cassadaga
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Moons
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Moons is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moons
    • Sinclairville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Genesee County
    • Amherst
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Amherst is located in Genesee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst
  • Niagara County
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Collins, with the one closest to North Collins listed first.
    • North Tonawanda
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • North Tonawanda is located in Niagara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Tonawanda
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 30,050 people
    • Park Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Park Village is located in Niagara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Village
  • Wyoming County
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Collins, with the one closest to North Collins listed first.
    • Arcade
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Curriers
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Curriers is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curriers
    • Java Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Harris Corners
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Harris Corners is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Corners
    • Java Center
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Folsomdale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Folsomdale is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folsomdale

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

Cemeteries Near North Collins ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of North Collins.

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 North Collins - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Friends Meetinghouse Burial Grounds
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Holy Spirit Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Huson Family Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Brant Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Dittman Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Holy Cross Lutheran Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Versailles Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • North Evans Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Jerusalem Corners Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Paul's Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Rathburn Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (249 more) ...
    • Pine Hill Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Mols Hill Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Rugg-Town / West Perrysburg Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)

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 North Collins had a population of 636 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, North Collins had a population of 1,194 people.

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

  • Shirley
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Shirley is located in Erie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shirley
  • Pontiac
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Pontiac is located in Erie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pontiac
  • Lawtons
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Langford
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Langford is located in Erie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langford
  • Eden
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Brant
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Clarksburg
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Clarksburg is located in Erie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksburg
  • Angola
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Versailles
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Collins
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Derby
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Marshfield
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Marshfield is located in Erie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshfield
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Eden Valley
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Eden Valley is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden Valley
    • North Evans
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • New Oregon
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • New Oregon is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Oregon

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of North Collins ...

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 35 newspapers that have been published in the area around North Collins.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of North Collins. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of North Collins and those printed in the larger area surrounding North Collins.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<3> of North Collins.

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 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 North Collins:

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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- North Collins) 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 North Collins, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.