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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 Bay Shores (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 Bay Shores. 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 Bay Shores ...

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 Bay Shores: Bay Shrs.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Bay Shores. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Bay Shores.

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 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.

Bay Shores is located in Onondaga 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 Onondaga County: Cayuga, Cortland, Madison & Oswego.

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

  • Onondaga County     (The home county of Bay Shores)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay Shores, with the one closest to Bay Shores listed first.
    • Otisco
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Otisco is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otisco
    • Amber
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Amber is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amber
    • Otisco Valley
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Otisco Valley is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otisco Valley
    • Rose Hill
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Rose Hill is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill
    • Thorn Hill
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Thorn Hill is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorn Hill
    • Spafford
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Spafford is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spafford
    • Cardiff
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Cardiff is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardiff
    • Mandana
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Mandana is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandana
    • Indian Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Indian Village is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
    • LaFayette
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • LaFayette is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for LaFayette
      • LaFayette has also been known as:
      • LaFayette Square
      • Te-Ka-Wis-To-Ta
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for LaFayette <1>
    • Cards Corners
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Cards Corners is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cards Corners
    • Assembly Park
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Assembly Park is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assembly Park
  • Cayuga County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay Shores, with the one closest to Bay Shores listed first.
    • New Hope
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • New Hope is located in Cayuga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
    • Kelloggsville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Kelloggsville is located in Cayuga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelloggsville
    • Niles
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Niles is located in Cayuga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Niles
    • Sempronius
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Sempronius is located in Cayuga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sempronius
    • Omro
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Omro is located in Cayuga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omro
    • Austin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Austin is located in Cayuga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austin
    • Dresserville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Dresserville is located in Cayuga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dresserville
    • Cascade
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Cascade is located in Cayuga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade
    • Montville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Montville is located in Cayuga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montville
    • Moravia
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Melrose Park
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Melrose Park is located in Cayuga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose Park
    • Auburn
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Chenango County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay Shores, with the one closest to Bay Shores listed first.
    • Otselic Center
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Otselic Center is located in Chenango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otselic Center
    • Pitcher
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • South Otselic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Otselic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Otselic is located in Chenango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otselic
  • Cortland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay Shores, with the one closest to Bay Shores listed first.
    • Scott
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Scott is located in Cortland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott
    • Cummings Crossing
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Cummings Crossing is located in Cortland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cummings Crossing
    • East Scott
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • East Scott is located in Cortland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Scott
    • Preble
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Little York
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Little York is located in Cortland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little York
    • Slab City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Slab City is located in Cortland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slab City
    • Pratt Corners
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Pratt Corners is located in Cortland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt Corners
    • Homer
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Homer is located in Cortland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,080 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Homer <1>
    • East Homer
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • East Homer is located in Cortland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Homer
    • East River
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • East River is located in Cortland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East River
    • Truxton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Crains Mills
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Crains Mills is located in Cortland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crains Mills
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay Shores, with the one closest to Bay Shores listed first.
    • Union
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Union is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
    • DeRuyter
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • DeRuyter is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for DeRuyter
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 518 people
    • Puckerville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Puckerville is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puckerville
    • Rippleton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Rippleton is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rippleton
    • Cazenovia
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • New Woodstock
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • New Woodstock is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Woodstock
    • Bingley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Bingley is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bingley
    • Chittenango Falls
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Chittenango Falls is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chittenango Falls
    • Sulphur Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Sulphur Springs is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
      • Sulphur Springs has also been known as:
      • Chittenango Springs
    • Bolivar
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Bolivar is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolivar
    • Chittenango
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Bridgeport
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Oswego County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay Shores, with the one closest to Bay Shores listed first.
    • Phoenix
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Hinmansville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Hinmansville is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinmansville
    • Sand Ridge
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Sand Ridge is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Ridge
    • South Granby
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • South Granby is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Granby
    • Caughdenoy
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Caughdenoy is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caughdenoy
    • Central Square
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Pennellville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Bowens Corners
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Bowens Corners is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowens Corners
    • West Monroe
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • West Monroe is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Monroe
    • Constantia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Seneca County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay Shores, with the one closest to Bay Shores listed first.
    • Canoga
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Canoga is located in Seneca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canoga
    • East Varick
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • East Varick is located in Seneca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Varick
    • Kuneytown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Kuneytown is located in Seneca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kuneytown
    • Kidders
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Kidders is located in Seneca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kidders
    • Seneca Falls
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Interlaken
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Interlaken is located in Seneca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Interlaken
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 599 people
      • Former names for Interlaken:
      • Farmer Village
      • Farmer
      • Farmerville
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Interlaken <1>
    • Tyre
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Tyre is located in Seneca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyre
    • Romulus
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Waterloo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Ovid
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Tompkins County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bay Shores, with the one closest to Bay Shores listed first.
    • Groton City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Groton City is located in Tompkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groton City
    • Groton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • West Groton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • West Groton is located in Tompkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Groton
    • North Lansing
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • North Lansing is located in Tompkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Lansing
    • McLean
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Peruville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Peruville is located in Tompkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peruville
    • East Lansing
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • East Lansing is located in Tompkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lansing
    • Freeville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Lake Ridge
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Lake Ridge is located in Tompkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ridge
    • Dryden
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Myers
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Myers is located in Tompkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myers
    • Lansing
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Bay Shores ...

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

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 Bay Shores - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Stanton Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • The West Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • St. Patricks Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Amber Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Borodino Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Lewis Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Hillsdale Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Burtis Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Spafford Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Otisco Valley Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Spafford Hollow Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Maple Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (476 more) ...
    • Pine Ridge Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • New Hope Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Vesper Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)

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>

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

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

  • Otisco
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Otisco is located in Onondaga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otisco
  • Amber
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Amber is located in Onondaga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amber
  • Otisco Valley
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Otisco Valley is located in Onondaga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otisco Valley
  • Borodino
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Borodino is located in Onondaga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borodino
  • Spafford
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Spafford is located in Onondaga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spafford
  • Navarino
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Navarino is located in Onondaga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navarino
  • Marietta
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Rose Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Rose Hill is located in Onondaga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill
  • Thorn Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Thorn Hill is located in Onondaga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorn Hill
  • New Hope
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • New Hope is located in Cayuga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
  • South Onondaga
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • South Onondaga is located in Onondaga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Onondaga
  • Shamrock
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Shamrock is located in Onondaga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shamrock
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Glen Haven
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Glen Haven is located in Cayuga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Haven
    • South Spafford
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • South Spafford is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Spafford
    • Cardiff
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Cardiff is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardiff

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

Newspapers Published in Bay Shores ...

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 88 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bay Shores.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bay Shores, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bay Shores.

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 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 Bay Shores:

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>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 from Point A (ie- Bay Shores) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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>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 Bay Shores, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.