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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 Bolivar (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 Bolivar. 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.

Bolivar 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 Bolivar. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bolivar:

  • Allegany County     (The home county of Bolivar)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bolivar, with the one closest to Bolivar listed first.
    • Kossuth
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Richburg
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Sawyer
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sawyer. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawyer
      • Sawyer is located in Allegany County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sawyer
      • From Bolivar to Sawyer
    • Little Genesee
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Vosburg
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • West Clarksville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Bowler
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Pikeville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pikeville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pikeville
      • Pikeville is located in Allegany County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pikeville
      • From Bolivar to Pikeville
    • Alma
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Petrolia
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Friendship
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • 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 <1>
    • Wellsville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wellsville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellsville
      • Wellsville is located in Allegany County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,329 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wellsville <1>
    • Cuba
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cuba have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
      • Cuba is located in Allegany County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,460 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cuba <1>
  • Cattaraugus County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bolivar, with the one closest to Bolivar listed first.
    • Portville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Portville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portville
      • Portville is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 941 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Portville <1>
    • Weston Mills
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Olean
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Abbotts
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Four Mile
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Four Mile. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Mile
      • Four Mile is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Four Mile
      • From Bolivar to Four Mile
    • Saint Bonaventure
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Bonaventure have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Bonaventure
      • Saint Bonaventure is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Bonaventure <1>
    • Allegany
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Allegany have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allegany
      • Allegany is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,685 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Allegany <1>
    • Rock City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
      • Rock City is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Ischua
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Chipmunk
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chipmunk. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chipmunk
      • Chipmunk is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Chipmunk
      • From Bolivar to Chipmunk
    • Humphrey
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Franklinville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Franklinville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklinville
      • Franklinville is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,622 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Franklinville <1>
    • Limestone
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
  • Steuben County
  • McKean County (PA)
  • Potter County (PA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bolivar, with the one closest to Bolivar listed first.
    • Honeoye
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Honeoye. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honeoye
      • Honeoye is located in Potter County (PA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Honeoye
      • From Bolivar to Honeoye
    • East Sharon
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for East Sharon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sharon
      • East Sharon is located in Potter County (PA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to East Sharon
      • From Bolivar to East Sharon
    • Shinglehouse
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Chrystal
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chrystal. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chrystal
      • Chrystal is located in Potter County (PA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Chrystal
      • From Bolivar to Chrystal
    • Millport
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Coneville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Coneville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coneville
      • Coneville is located in Potter County (PA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Coneville
      • From Bolivar to Coneville
    • Oswayo
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Williston
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Williston. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williston
      • Williston is located in Potter County (PA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Williston
      • From Bolivar to Williston
    • Genesee
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Hebron
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hebron. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
      • Hebron is located in Potter County (PA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hebron
      • From Bolivar to Hebron
    • Ellisburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Roulette
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • West Bingham
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Tioga County (PA)

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

Cemeteries Near Bolivar ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bolivar.

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

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

  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • 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.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Maple Lawn Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maple Lawn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maple Lawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Richburg Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Richburg Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Richburg Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Little Genesee Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Little Genesee Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Little Genesee Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Well Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Well Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Well Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Dimmick Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dimmick Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dimmick Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wheeler Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wheeler Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wheeler Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • West Genesee Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Genesee Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Genesee Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Allentown Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Clarksville Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clarksville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Clarksville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sunnyside Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sunnyside Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sunnyside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Utopia Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Utopia Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Utopia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (187 more) ...
    • Maple Grove Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • 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.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Maple Grove Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • 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.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Nile Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nile Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nile 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Bolivar had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Bolivar had a population of 964 people.

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

  • Kossuth
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Little Genesee
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Sawyer
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sawyer. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawyer
    • Sawyer is located in Allegany County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Sawyer
    • From Bolivar to Sawyer
  • South Bolivar
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Bolivar have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bolivar
    • South Bolivar is located in Allegany County
  • Vosburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Obi
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Obi have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Obi
    • Obi is located in Allegany County
  • Bowler
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Honeoye
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Honeoye. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honeoye
    • Honeoye is located in Potter County (PA)
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Honeoye
    • From Bolivar to Honeoye
  • Allentown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Allentown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allentown
    • Allentown is located in Allegany County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Allentown <1>
  • West Clarksville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Ceres
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ceres have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceres
    • Ceres is located in Allegany County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ceres <1>
  • Myrtle
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Myrtle. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtle
    • Myrtle is located in McKean County (PA)
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Myrtle
    • From Bolivar to Myrtle
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • East Sharon
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for East Sharon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sharon
      • East Sharon is located in Potter County (PA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to East Sharon
      • From Bolivar to East Sharon
    • Alma
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Pikeville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pikeville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pikeville
      • Pikeville is located in Allegany County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pikeville
      • From Bolivar to Pikeville

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Bolivar ...

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 30 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bolivar.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Bolivar. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Bolivar and those printed in the larger area surrounding Bolivar.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<6> of Bolivar.

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 Bolivar:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Bolivar. 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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>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.
<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>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 Bolivar, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Bolivar) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bolivar. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.0667, Longitude: -78.1677    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025