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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 Belfast (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 Belfast. 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.

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 and 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.

Belfast is located in Allegany County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Allegany County: Cattaraugus, Livingston, Steuben, Wyoming, McKean (PA) & Potter (PA).

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

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

Cemeteries Near Belfast ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Belfast.

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

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

  • Riverside Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverside Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Chamberlain Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chamberlain Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chamberlain Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Allen Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Allen Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Allen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Caneadea Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Caneadea Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Caneadea Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Marshall Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Marshall Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Marshall Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sayers Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sayers Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sayers Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • East Caneadea Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East Caneadea Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the East Caneadea Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Basswood Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Basswood Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Basswood Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Christ Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Christ Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Christ Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Until The Day Dawn Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Until The Day Dawn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Until The Day Dawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bellville Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bellville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bellville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (307 more) ...
    • Holy Cross Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Cross Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holy Cross Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • County Home Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the County Home Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the County Home Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Podonque Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Podonque Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Podonque Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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 Belfast had a population of 600 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Oramel
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Oramel. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oramel
    • Oramel is located in Allegany County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Oramel
    • From Belfast to Oramel
  • Rockville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
    • Rockville is located in Allegany County
  • Caneadea
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Marshall
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marshall have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshall
    • Marshall is located in Allegany County
  • West Allen
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for West Allen. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Allen
    • West Allen is located in Allegany County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to West Allen
    • From Belfast to West Allen
  • Angelica
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Aristotle
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Belvidere
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belvidere have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belvidere
    • Belvidere is located in Allegany County
  • Houghton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Black Creek
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Rushford
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Bennetts
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bennetts have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennetts
    • Bennetts is located in Allegany County
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Fillmore
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Friendship
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Friendship have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
      • Friendship is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Friendship <2>
    • Belmont
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belmont have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
      • Belmont is located in Allegany County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 893 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Belmont <2>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Belfast ...

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 131 newspapers that have been published in the area around Belfast.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Belfast. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Belfast and those printed in the larger area surrounding Belfast.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 23 miles [37 km]<5> of Belfast.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Belfast:

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

The official website for Allegany County: www.alleganyco.com/

The official website for State of New York: https://www.ny.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<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 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.
<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 Belfast, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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 from Point A (ie- Belfast) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Belfast. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.3424, Longitude: -78.1137    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025