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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 Canaan Center (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 Canaan Center. 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 Canaan Center ...

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 Canaan Center: Canaan Ctr. (or less commonly used: Canaan Cen., Canaan Cent. or Canaan Cntr.)

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Canaan Center is located in Columbia 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 Columbia County: Litchfield (CT), Berkshire (MA), Albany, Dutchess, Greene, Rensselaer & Ulster.

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

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

Cemeteries Near Canaan Center ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Canaan Center.

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

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

  • Canaan Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Canaan Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Canaan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Flatbrook Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Red Rock Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Red Rock Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Red Rock Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • The Maples Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Maples Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for The Maples Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mountain View Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mountain View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lovejoy - Beebe Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lovejoy - Beebe Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lovejoy - Beebe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • West Stockbridge Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Stockbridge Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Stockbridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cone Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Center Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Austerlitz Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Austerlitz Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Austerlitz Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Patricks Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Patricks Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Patricks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cornwall - Tilden Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cornwall - Tilden Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cornwall - Tilden Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (355 more) ...

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Canaan Center had a population of 39 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Flatbrook
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flatbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatbrook
    • Flatbrook is located in Columbia County
  • Canaan
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Red Rock
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • State Line
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for State Line have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line
    • State Line is located in Berkshire County (MA)
  • East Chatham
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Chatham have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Chatham
    • East Chatham is located in Columbia County
  • New Concord
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Richmond Furnace
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richmond Furnace have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond Furnace
    • Richmond Furnace is located in Berkshire County (MA)
  • Richmond
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Austerlitz
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • West Stockbridge
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Spencertown
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spencertown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spencertown
    • Spencertown is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spencertown <1>
  • Shaker Village
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shaker Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
    • Shaker Village is located in Berkshire County (MA)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • New Lebanon
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Lebanon have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lebanon
      • New Lebanon is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Lebanon <1>
    • New Lebanon Center
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Lebanon Center have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lebanon Center
      • New Lebanon Center is located in Columbia County
    • Rayville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rayville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rayville
      • Rayville is located in Columbia County

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

Newspapers Published in Canaan Center ...

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 70 newspapers that have been published in the area around Canaan Center.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Canaan Center, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<7>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Canaan Center.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Canaan Center:

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

The official website for Columbia County: www.columbiacountyny.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>The Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) has created and maintains a database of historic properties that is called MACRIS (for the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System). More information about the MHC and MACRIS can be found on their website: mhc-macris.net.

When visiting the MACRIS website, you might encounter their page requiring the 'Acceptance of Terms'. With your acceptance, you'll be transfered to the desired page.

<6>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 Canaan Center, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<7>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- Canaan Center) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Canaan Center. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.3866, Longitude: -73.4552    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025