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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 Indian (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 Indian. 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 northwest 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 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 Indian is located in Ulster 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 Ulster County: Columbia, Delaware, Dutchess, Greene, Orange & Sullivan.

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

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

Cemeteries Near Big Indian ...

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

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

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

  • Shandaken Rural Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shandaken Rural Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shandaken Rural Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Baker Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Baker Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Baker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Haynes Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Lake Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lake Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lake Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Elk Creek Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Crosby Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Crosby Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Crosby Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Clovesville Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clovesville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Clovesville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • West Kill Methodist Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • West Kill Community Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Bedell Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bedell Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bedell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Longyear Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Longyear Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Longyear Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lanesville Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lanesville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lanesville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (252 more) ...
    • Parker Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Parker Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Parker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Schermerhorn Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Schermerhorn Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Schermerhorn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Halcott Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Halcott Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Halcott Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 Indian had a population of 42 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Oliverea
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Shandaken
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Pine Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Hill
    • Pine Hill is located in Ulster County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pine Hill <1>
  • Allaben
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Allaben have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allaben
    • Allaben is located in Ulster County
  • Highmount
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Fleischmanns
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fleischmanns have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleischmanns
    • Fleischmanns is located in Delaware County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 308 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fleischmanns <1>
  • Halcott Center
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Halcott Center have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halcott Center
    • Halcott Center is located in Greene County
  • Woodland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
    • Woodland is located in Ulster County
  • Phoenicia
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Branch
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Branch. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branch
    • Branch is located in Ulster County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Branch
    • From Big Indian to Branch
  • West Kill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Belle Ayr
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Belle Ayr. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Ayr
    • Belle Ayr is located in Ulster County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Belle Ayr
    • From Big Indian to Belle Ayr
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Frost Valley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frost Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost Valley
      • Frost Valley is located in Ulster County
    • Longyear
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Longyear have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longyear
      • Longyear is located in Ulster County
    • Lanesville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lanesville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanesville
      • Lanesville is located in Greene County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lanesville <1>

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

Newspapers Published in Big Indian ...

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 71 newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Indian.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Big Indian, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Big Indian.

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 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 Big Indian:

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

The official website for Ulster County: www.co.ulster.ny.us/

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

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 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>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 Indian, 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' (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- Big Indian) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Big Indian. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.1027, Longitude: -74.4432       In this case, the coordinates for Big Indian have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025