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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 Chaffee (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 Chaffee. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.

Chaffee is located in Erie 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 Erie County: Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Genesee, Niagara & Wyoming.

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

  • Erie County     (The home county of Chaffee)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chaffee, with the one closest to Chaffee listed first.
    • Protection
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Protection. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Protection
      • Protection is located in Erie County
    • Dutchtown
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutchtown
      • Dutchtown is located in Erie County
    • Holland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Footes
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Footes
      • Footes is located in Erie County
    • Springville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
      • Springville is located in Erie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,273 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Springville <2>
    • West Falls
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Falls
      • West Falls is located in Erie County
    • Boston
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Concord
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
      • Concord is located in Erie County
    • Griffins Mills
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Griffins Mills. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffins Mills
      • Griffins Mills is located in Erie County
    • Jewettville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewettville
      • Jewettville is located in Erie County
    • Patchin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patchin
      • Patchin is located in Erie County
    • Wyandale
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyandale
      • Wyandale is located in Erie County
  • Allegany County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chaffee, with the one closest to Chaffee listed first.
    • Fairview
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fairview. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
      • Fairview is located in Allegany County
    • Rushford
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hume
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Fillmore
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Houghton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Wiscoy
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wiscoy. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiscoy
      • Wiscoy is located in Allegany County
    • Caneadea
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Oramel
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Oramel. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oramel
      • Oramel is located in Allegany County
    • Black Creek
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Lyons Corners
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons Corners
      • Lyons Corners is located in Allegany County
    • Belfast
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • West Allen
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for West Allen. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Allen
      • West Allen is located in Allegany County
  • Cattaraugus County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chaffee, with the one closest to Chaffee listed first.
    • Yorkshire
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkshire
      • Yorkshire is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Delevan
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Delevan have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delevan
      • Delevan is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,039 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Delevan <2>
    • Elton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elton
      • Elton is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Machias
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Bird
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bird
      • Bird is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Franklinville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • 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 <2>
    • Brooklyn
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
      • Brooklyn is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Eddyville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Eddyville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eddyville
      • Eddyville is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Abbotts
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbotts
      • Abbotts is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Ischua
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ischua
      • Ischua is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Ellicottville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Otto
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
  • Genesee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chaffee, with the one closest to Chaffee listed first.
    • Griswold
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Griswold. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griswold
      • Griswold is located in Genesee County
    • Sawens
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sawens. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawens
      • Sawens is located in Genesee County
    • Alexander
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Linden
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Linden. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden
      • Linden is located in Genesee County
    • Corfu
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Brookville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookville
      • Brookville is located in Genesee County
    • West Bethany
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Bethany
      • West Bethany is located in Genesee County
    • East Alexander
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Alexander
      • East Alexander is located in Genesee County
  • Livingston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chaffee, with the one closest to Chaffee listed first.
    • Dalton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Nunda
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nunda
      • Nunda is located in Livingston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,274 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nunda <2>
  • Wyoming County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chaffee, with the one closest to Chaffee listed first.
    • Arcade
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Curriers
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curriers
      • Curriers is located in Wyoming County
    • Java Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Java Center
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • North Java
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Bliss
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Smiths Corner
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths Corner
      • Smiths Corner is located in Wyoming County
    • Harris Corners
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Corners
      • Harris Corners is located in Wyoming County
    • Johnsonburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsonburg
      • Johnsonburg is located in Wyoming County
    • Varysburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Pike
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Folsomdale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folsomdale
      • Folsomdale is located in Wyoming County

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

Cemeteries Near Chaffee ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Chaffee.

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

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

  • Sardinia Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sardinia Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sardinia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Yorkshire Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Protection Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • St.s Peter & Paul's Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St.s Peter & Paul's Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St.s Peter & Paul's Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Punkshire Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Punkshire Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Punkshire Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Smith Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smith Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Smith Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Arcade Rural Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Arcade Rural Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Arcade Rural Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Curriers Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Curriers Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Curriers Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Delavan Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Delavan Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Delavan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • The Delavan Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Maple Dale Cemetery
    • Maplehurst Cemetery
    • Yorkshire Center Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #65204 <4>
  • St. Mary's Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Mary's Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Mary's Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pratham Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pratham Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pratham Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • McKinstry Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McKinstry Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McKinstry Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (319 more) ...
    • Sandusky Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • St. Patrick's Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Patrick's Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Patrick's Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Holland Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holland Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holland 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 Chaffee had a population of 112 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Sardinia
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sardinia have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sardinia
    • Sardinia is located in Erie County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sardinia <2>
  • Protection
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Protection. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Protection
    • Protection is located in Erie County
  • Yorkshire
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkshire
    • Yorkshire is located in Cattaraugus County
  • Arcade
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Curriers
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curriers
    • Curriers is located in Wyoming County
  • Holland
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Sandusky
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sandusky have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandusky
    • Sandusky is located in Cattaraugus County
  • East Arcade
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Arcade have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Arcade
    • East Arcade is located in Wyoming County
  • Java Center
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Java Village
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Elton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elton
    • Elton is located in Cattaraugus County
  • East Concord
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Concord have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Concord
    • East Concord is located in Erie County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for East Concord <2>
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Freedom
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freedom have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom
      • Freedom is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freedom <2>
    • Eagle
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle
      • Eagle is located in Wyoming County
    • Strykersville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Strykersville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strykersville
      • Strykersville is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Strykersville <2>

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

Newspapers Published in Chaffee ...

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 88 newspapers that have been published in the area around Chaffee.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Chaffee, 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 Chaffee.

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 Chaffee:

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

The official website for Erie County: www.erie.gov/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Chaffee, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Chaffee) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Chaffee. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.5681, Longitude: -78.4789       In this case, the coordinates for Chaffee have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025