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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 Champion (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 Champion. 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 doctors and 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.

Champion is located in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County: Lewis, Oswego & Saint Lawrence.

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

  • Jefferson County     (The home county of Champion)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Champion, with the one closest to Champion listed first.
    • West Carthage
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • West Carthage is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Carthage
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,901 people
    • Carthage
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Herrings
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Herrings is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrings
      • Estimated population in 2017: 90 people
    • Deferiet
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Great Bend
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Black River
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Calcium
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Sterlingville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Sterlingville is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterlingville
    • Evans Mills
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • East Rodman
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • East Rodman is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Rodman
    • Watertown
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Natural Bridge
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Lewis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Champion, with the one closest to Champion listed first.
    • Copenhagen
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Denmark
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Denmark is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
    • Briggs Corner
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Briggs Corner is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briggs Corner
    • Harrisburg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Harrisburg is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg
    • Castorland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Naumburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Naumburg is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naumburg
    • New Boston
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • New Boston is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Boston
    • Barnes Corners
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Barnes Corners is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnes Corners
    • Forest City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Forest City is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
    • Rector
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Rector is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rector
    • Croghan
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Indian River
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Indian River is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian River
  • Oswego County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Champion, with the one closest to Champion listed first.
    • Smartville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Smartville is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smartville
    • Lacona
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Sandy Creek
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Redfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Chateaugay
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Chateaugay is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chateaugay
    • Orwell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Saint Lawrence County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Champion, with the one closest to Champion listed first.
    • Somerville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Somerville is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerville
    • Wegatchie
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Wegatchie is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wegatchie
    • Elmdale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Elmdale is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmdale
    • Gouverneur
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jayville ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jayville is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jayville
    • Talcville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Talcville is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talcville

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

Cemeteries Near Champion ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Champion.

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

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

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

  • Hillside Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Plank Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Cotes Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • South Champion Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • F W Woolworth Memorial Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Bent Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Maple Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Swinburne Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • St. James Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Clark Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (157 more) ...
    • Rutland Hollow Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Sheepfold Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Battle Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)

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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Champion had a population of 231 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Copenhagen
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Carthage
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Great Bend
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Deer River
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Felts Mills
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Denmark
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Denmark is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
  • Black River
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • East Watertown
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • East Watertown is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Watertown
  • Harrisburg
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Harrisburg is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg
  • Sterlingville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Sterlingville is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterlingville
  • East Rodman
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • East Rodman is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Rodman
  • Castorland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Naumburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Naumburg is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naumburg
    • North Wilna
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • North Wilna is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Wilna
    • Evans Mills
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Champion ...

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 133 newspapers that have been published in the area around Champion.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Champion, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Champion.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Champion:

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>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 Champion, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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- Champion) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.