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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 Coles Mill (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 Coles Mill. 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 Coles Mill ...

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.

  • A typical abbreviation for Coles Mill: Coles Ml. (or less commonly used: Coles Mll.)
  • While the name of this community is Coles Mill, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Coles Mill may originally have been Cole's Mill.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Coles Mill might be written as Cole Mill.

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 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 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.

Coles Mill is located in Columbia County.

To see how the shape of Pennsylvania's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Columbia County: Luzerne, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Schuylkill & Sullivan.

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

  • Columbia County     (The home county of Coles Mill)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Coles Mill, with the one closest to Coles Mill listed first.
    • Jackson
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Greenwood
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Waller
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waller have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waller
      • Waller is located in Columbia County
    • Rohrsburg
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rohrsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rohrsburg
      • Rohrsburg is located in Columbia County
    • Iola
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Benton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Millville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Welliversville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Stillwater
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Eyers Grove
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eyers Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eyers Grove
      • Eyers Grove is located in Columbia County
    • Zaner
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jerseytown
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jerseytown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerseytown
      • Jerseytown is located in Columbia County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Jerseytown
      • From Coles Mill to Jerseytown
  • Bradford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Coles Mill, with the one closest to Coles Mill listed first.
    • Laddsburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Laddsburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laddsburg
      • Laddsburg is located in Bradford County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Laddsburg
      • From Coles Mill to Laddsburg
    • Overton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Overton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Overton
      • Overton is located in Bradford County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Overton
      • From Coles Mill to Overton
    • New Albany
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Albany have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Albany
      • New Albany is located in Bradford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Albany <3>
    • Evergreen
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Evergreen. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
      • Evergreen is located in Bradford County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Evergreen
      • From Coles Mill to Evergreen
    • Wilmot
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wilmot. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmot
      • Wilmot is located in Bradford County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wilmot
      • From Coles Mill to Wilmot
    • New Era
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Luzerne County
  • Lycoming County
  • Montour County
  • Northumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Coles Mill, with the one closest to Coles Mill listed first.
    • Turbotville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Turbotville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turbotville
      • Turbotville is located in Northumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 662 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Turbotville <3>
    • Riverside
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverside have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
      • Riverside is located in Northumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,839 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Riverside <3>
    • Chulasky
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chulasky. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chulasky
      • Chulasky is located in Northumberland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Chulasky
      • From Coles Mill to Chulasky
    • McEwensville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Rushtown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rushtown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushtown
      • Rushtown is located in Northumberland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rushtown
      • From Coles Mill to Rushtown
    • Potts Grove
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Dewart
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Watsontown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Elysburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elysburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elysburg
      • Elysburg is located in Northumberland County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elysburg <3>
    • Marion Heights
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marion Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion Heights
      • Marion Heights is located in Northumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 573 people
    • Milton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton
      • Milton is located in Northumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,550 people
    • Snydertown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Snydertown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snydertown
      • Snydertown is located in Northumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
  • Schuylkill County
  • Snyder County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Coles Mill, with the one closest to Coles Mill listed first.
    • Shamokin Dam
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Hummels Wharf
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hummels Wharf have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hummels Wharf
      • Hummels Wharf is located in Snyder County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hummels Wharf <3>
  • Sullivan County
  • Union County
  • Wyoming County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Coles Mill, with the one closest to Coles Mill listed first.
    • Noxen
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Beaumont
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Forkston
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Forkston. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forkston
      • Forkston is located in Wyoming County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Forkston
      • From Coles Mill to Forkston
    • Mill City ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mill City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill City
      • Mill City is located in Wyoming County
    • Evans Falls
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Stowell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Stowell. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stowell
      • Stowell is located in Wyoming County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Stowell
      • From Coles Mill to Stowell

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

Cemeteries Near Coles Mill ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Coles Mill.

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 Coles Mill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

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.<8>

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

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

  • Derrs
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Derrs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derrs
    • Derrs is located in Columbia County
  • Sereno
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sereno have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sereno
    • Sereno is located in Columbia County
  • Greenwood
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Unityville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Pine Summit
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Summit have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Summit
    • Pine Summit is located in Columbia County
  • Iola
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Waller
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waller have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waller
    • Waller is located in Columbia County
  • Millville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Benton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Welliversville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Stillwater
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Coles Creek
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coles Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coles Creek
    • Coles Creek is located in Columbia County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Eyers Grove
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eyers Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eyers Grove
      • Eyers Grove is located in Columbia County
    • Zaner
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Laubach
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laubach have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laubach
      • Laubach is located in Columbia County

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

Newspapers Published in Coles Mill ...

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 29 newspapers that have been published in the area around Coles Mill.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Coles Mill, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<7>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Coles Mill.

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 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 Coles Mill:

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

The official website for Columbia County: www.columbiapa.org/county/

The official website for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.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>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>If we found a location and have questions about the accuracy of our information, we will simply say that the marker is 'in the vicinity'. We are not confident about the location and the position of our marker is only a rough guide. If we have too many doubts about the location, we will not include it in our database.
<6>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.
<7>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Coles Mill) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Coles Mill. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.1894, Longitude: -76.4798    
<8>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 Coles Mill, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025