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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 Balcom Corners (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 Balcom Corners. 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 Balcom Corners ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Balcom Corners: Balcom Cors.

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 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.

Balcom Corners is located in Chautauqua 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 Chautauqua County: Cattaraugus, Erie, Erie (PA) & Warren (PA).

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

  • Chautauqua County     (The home county of Balcom Corners)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Balcom Corners, with the one closest to Balcom Corners listed first.
    • Wango
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Wango is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wango
    • Cherry Creek
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Parcells Corners
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Parcells Corners is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parcells Corners
    • Forestville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Sheridan
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Sinclairville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Cassadaga
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Silver Creek
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Moons
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Moons is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moons
    • Irving
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Fredonia
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Dunkirk
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • 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>
  • Cattaraugus County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Balcom Corners, with the one closest to Balcom Corners listed first.
    • South Dayton
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Cottage
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Cottage is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage
    • Leon
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Persia
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Persia is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persia
    • Perrysburg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Conewango
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Conewango is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conewango
    • Gowanda
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • 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>
    • Axeville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Axeville is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Axeville
    • Cattaraugus
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Otto
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • East Randolph
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • East Randolph is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Randolph
      • Estimated population in 2012: 615 people
    • Napoli
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Napoli is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napoli
  • Erie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Balcom Corners, with the one closest to Balcom Corners listed first.
    • Brant
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Farnham
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Shirley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Shirley is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shirley
    • Lake Erie Beach
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Lake Erie Beach is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Erie Beach
    • North Collins
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Angola
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Pontiac
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Pontiac is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pontiac
    • Angola-on-the-Lake
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Angola-on-the-Lake is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angola-on-the-Lake
    • Morton Corners
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Morton Corners is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morton Corners
    • Wyandale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Wyandale is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyandale
    • Concord
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Concord is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
    • Eden
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Warren County (PA)
    • Sugar Grove
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Balcom Corners ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Balcom Corners.

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 Balcom Corners - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Villenova Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Hamlet Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Ball Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Cottage Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Highland Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Markham Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Pope Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Arkwright Summit Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Treat Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Treat Cemetery
    • The Treat Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Leon Center Cemetery
    • Leon Union Cemetery
    • Treat Memorial Cemetery
    • Union Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #66536 <2>
  • Park Lawn Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • St. Pauls of the Cross Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Perrysburg Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (204 more) ...
    • Abbey Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Burnham Hollow Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Luce Hill Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)

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.<3>

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

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

  • South Dayton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Hamlet
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Hamlet is located in Chautauqua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlet
  • Wango
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Wango is located in Chautauqua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wango
  • Markhams
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Markhams is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markhams
  • Cottage
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Cottage is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage
  • Cherry Creek
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Leon
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • East Leon
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • East Leon is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Leon
  • Wesley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Wesley is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley
  • Dayton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Nashville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Nashville is located in Chautauqua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashville
  • Persia
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Persia is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persia
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Perrysburg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Arkwright
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Arkwright is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkwright
    • Griswold
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Griswold is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griswold

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

Newspapers Published in Balcom Corners ...

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 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around Balcom Corners.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Balcom Corners, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Balcom Corners.

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 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 Balcom Corners:

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>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 Balcom Corners, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Balcom Corners) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.