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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 Big Flats (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 Big Flats. 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 Big Flats ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Big Flats: Big Flts.

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 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.

Big Flats is located in Chemung 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 Chemung County: Schuyler, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins, Bradford (PA) & Tioga (PA).

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

  • Chemung County     (The home county of Big Flats)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Flats, with the one closest to Big Flats listed first.
    • Elmira Heights
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elmira Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmira Heights
      • Elmira Heights is located in Chemung County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,747 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elmira Heights <2>
    • Horseheads
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Post Creek
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Post Creek. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Post Creek
      • Post Creek is located in Chemung County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Post Creek
      • From Big Flats to Post Creek
    • Pioneer Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pioneer Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer Village
      • Pioneer Village is located in Chemung County
    • West Elmira
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Elmira have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Elmira
      • West Elmira is located in Chemung County
    • Pine Valley
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Sagetown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Elmira
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Pine City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine City
      • Pine City is located in Chemung County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pine City <2>
    • Webb Mills
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Webb Mills. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webb Mills
      • Webb Mills is located in Chemung County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Webb Mills
      • From Big Flats to Webb Mills
    • Southport
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Southport. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southport
      • Southport is located in Chemung County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Southport
      • From Big Flats to Southport
    • Sullivanville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Schuyler County
  • Steuben County
  • Tioga County
  • Tompkins County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Flats, with the one closest to Big Flats listed first.
    • Newfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • West Danby
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for West Danby. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Danby
      • West Danby is located in Tompkins County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to West Danby
      • From Big Flats to West Danby
    • Ithaca
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jacksonville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • South Hill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hill
      • South Hill is located in Tompkins County
  • Yates County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Flats, with the one closest to Big Flats listed first.
    • Glenora
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Glenora. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenora
      • Glenora is located in Yates County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Glenora
      • From Big Flats to Glenora
    • Dundee
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dundee have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundee
      • Dundee is located in Yates County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,608 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dundee <2>
    • Barrington
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Bradford County (PA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Flats, with the one closest to Big Flats listed first.
    • Fassett
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fassett. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fassett
      • Fassett is located in Bradford County (PA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fassett
      • From Big Flats to Fassett
    • Gillett
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Coryland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Coryland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coryland
      • Coryland is located in Bradford County (PA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Coryland
      • From Big Flats to Coryland
    • Bentley Creek
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Middletown
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middletown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
      • Middletown is located in Bradford County (PA)
    • Berrytown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Austinville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Columbia Cross Roads
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Big Pond
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • South Waverly
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Waverly have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Waverly
      • South Waverly is located in Bradford County (PA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,006 people
    • Sylvania
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sylvania have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvania
      • Sylvania is located in Bradford County (PA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
    • East Smithfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Tioga County (PA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Flats, with the one closest to Big Flats listed first.
    • Millerton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Lawrenceville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Pritchard ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pritchard. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pritchard
      • Pritchard is located in Tioga County (PA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pritchard
      • From Big Flats to Pritchard
    • Roseville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roseville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
      • Roseville is located in Tioga County (PA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 184 people
    • Tioga
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Elkland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Farmington Hill
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Hammond
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hammond. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammond
      • Hammond is located in Tioga County (PA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hammond
      • From Big Flats to Hammond
    • Mansfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mansfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mansfield
      • Mansfield is located in Tioga County (PA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,972 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mansfield <2>
    • Osceola
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Mainesburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Keeneyville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Big Flats ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Big Flats.

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

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

  • Miller Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Rural Home Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rural Home Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rural Home Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Goff Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Goff Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Goff Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mills Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mills Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mills Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Whitney Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Dutch Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dutch Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dutch Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • South School Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the South School Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the South School Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Woodland Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Woodlawn National Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • St. Nicholas Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Nicholas Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Nicholas Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Maple Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maple Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maple Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (353 more) ...
    • St. Marys Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Oldfield Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oldfield Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oldfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Hope Cemetery Annex
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hope Cemetery Annex
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hope Cemetery Annex have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Big Flats had a population of 600 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • East Corning
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Corning have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Corning
    • East Corning is located in Steuben County
  • Gibson
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gibson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson
    • Gibson is located in Steuben County
  • Ferenbaugh
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ferenbaugh have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferenbaugh
    • Ferenbaugh is located in Steuben County
  • Horseheads
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Corning
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Post Creek
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Post Creek. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Post Creek
    • Post Creek is located in Chemung County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Post Creek
    • From Big Flats to Post Creek
  • Caton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Pine City
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine City
    • Pine City is located in Chemung County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pine City <2>
  • Elmira
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Pine Valley
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Dyke
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dyke have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dyke
    • Dyke is located in Steuben County
  • Seeley Creek
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seeley Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seeley Creek
    • Seeley Creek is located in Chemung County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Big Flats ...

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 109 newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Flats.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Big Flats, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Big Flats.

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 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 Big Flats:

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

The official website for Chemung County: www.chemungcounty.com/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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.
<5>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 Big Flats, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Big Flats) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Big Flats. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.1374, Longitude: -76.9372    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025