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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 Chatham 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 Chatham 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 Chatham 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 Chatham Center: Chatham Ctr. (or less commonly used: Chatham Cen., Chatham Cent. or Chatham 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 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.

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

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

Cemeteries Near Chatham Center ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Chatham 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 Chatham Center covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Valatie Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Valatie Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Valatie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Prospect Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Prospect Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Prospect Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Kinderhook Reformed Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Shufelt Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shufelt Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shufelt Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Chatham Rural Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chatham Rural Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chatham Rural Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • 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.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • North Chatham Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Chatham Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Chatham Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Columbia County Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Columbia County Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Columbia County Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. James Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. James Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. James Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Nassau - Schodack Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Lovejoy - Beebe Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • 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.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • The Maples Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • 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.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (392 more) ...
    • Snyder Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Snyder Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Snyder Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Red Rock Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • 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.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Stuyvesant Falls Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stuyvesant Falls Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stuyvesant Falls Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Chatham Center had a population of 234 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Niverville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Niverville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Niverville
    • Niverville is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Niverville <2>
  • Chatham
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chatham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham
    • Chatham is located in Columbia County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,623 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chatham <2>
  • Old Chatham
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Chatham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Chatham
    • Old Chatham is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Old Chatham <2>
  • Malden Bridge
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Malden Bridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malden Bridge
    • Malden Bridge is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Malden Bridge <2>
  • Valatie
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Kinderhook
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • New Concord
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • East Chatham
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Chatham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Chatham
    • East Chatham is located in Columbia County
  • Rayville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rayville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rayville
    • Rayville is located in Columbia County
  • Riders Mills
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Sunnyside
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunnyside have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyside
    • Sunnyside is located in Columbia County
  • Ghent
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ghent have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ghent
    • Ghent is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ghent <2>
  • Continue List   (22 more) ...
    • Red Rock
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Nassau
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Stuyvesant Falls
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stuyvesant Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stuyvesant Falls
      • Stuyvesant Falls is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stuyvesant Falls <2>

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

Newspapers Published in Chatham 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 57 newspapers that have been published in the area around Chatham Center.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Chatham Center, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Chatham 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 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 Chatham Center:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Chatham 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>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<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>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- Chatham Center) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Chatham Center. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.4182, Longitude: -73.6139       In this case, the coordinates for Chatham Center have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Chatham Center, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025