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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 Brocton (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 Brocton. 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 Brocton ...

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.

Another variation: Brockton.

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

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 southwest 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 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 west 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.

Brocton is located in Chautauqua 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 Chautauqua County: Cattaraugus, Erie, Erie (PA) & Warren (PA).

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

  • Chautauqua County     (The home county of Brocton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brocton, with the one closest to Brocton listed first.
    • Portland
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Bournes Beach
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Bournes Beach is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bournes Beach
    • Fredonia
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Cassadaga
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Dunkirk
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Dunkirk is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunkirk
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,701 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dunkirk <1>
    • Hartfield
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Hartfield is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartfield
    • Westfield
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Mayville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Wooglin
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Wooglin is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooglin
    • Moons
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Moons is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moons
    • South Stockton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • South Stockton is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Stockton
    • Forsyth
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Forsyth is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forsyth
  • Cattaraugus County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brocton, with the one closest to Brocton listed first.
    • Cottage
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Cottage is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage
    • South Dayton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Leon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Perrysburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Conewango
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Conewango is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conewango
    • Persia
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Persia is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persia
    • Axeville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Axeville is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Axeville
    • Gowanda
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Gowanda is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowanda
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,524 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gowanda <1>
    • Randolph
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Cattaraugus
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • East Randolph
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • East Randolph is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Randolph
      • Estimated population in 2012: 615 people
  • Erie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brocton, with the one closest to Brocton listed first.
    • Farnham
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Brant
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Lake Erie Beach
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Lake Erie Beach is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Erie Beach
    • Angola-on-the-Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Angola-on-the-Lake is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angola-on-the-Lake
    • Angola
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • North Collins
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Pontiac
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Pontiac is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pontiac
    • Shirley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Shirley is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shirley
  • Erie County (PA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brocton, with the one closest to Brocton listed first.
    • Freeport
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Freeport is located in Erie County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport
    • North East
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Hornby
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Hornby is located in Erie County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornby
  • Warren County (PA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brocton, with the one closest to Brocton listed first.
    • Bear Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Sugar Grove
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Lottsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Lottsville is located in Warren County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lottsville

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

Cemeteries Near Brocton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Brocton.

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 Brocton - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Pecor Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Kelley Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Webster Road Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • West Main Street Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Union Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Bachelor Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Stockton Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Forest Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • St. James Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Westfield Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (152 more) ...
    • Cassadaga Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Christian Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Laona Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)

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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Brocton had a population of 810 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Brocton had a population of 1,382 people.

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

  • Portland
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Stockton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Lily Dale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Fredonia
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Burnhams
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Burnhams is located in Chautauqua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnhams
  • Cassadaga
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Shumla
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Shumla is located in Chautauqua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shumla
  • Laona
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Laona is located in Chautauqua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laona
  • Westfield
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Hartfield
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Hartfield is located in Chautauqua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartfield
  • Dunkirk
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Dunkirk is located in Chautauqua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunkirk
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,701 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dunkirk <1>
  • Mayville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Wooglin
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Wooglin is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooglin
    • Dewittville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Centralia
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Centralia is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centralia

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Brocton ...

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 52 newspapers that have been published in the area around Brocton.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Brocton. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Brocton and those printed in the larger area surrounding Brocton.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4> of Brocton.

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 either 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 Brocton:

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 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.
<3>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 Brocton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Brocton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.