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 (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. 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.
Chatham is located in Columbia 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 Columbia County: Litchfield (CT), Berkshire (MA), Albany, Dutchess, Greene, Rensselaer & Ulster.
Below are the counties that are near Chatham. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Chatham:
- Columbia County (The home county of Chatham)
- The following are listed by their distance from Chatham, with the one closest to Chatham listed first.
- Moorhouse Corner
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Moorhouse Corner is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moorhouse Corner
- Ghent
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Chatham Center
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Chatham Center is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham Center
- Rock City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Rock City is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
- Red Rock
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Red Rock is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Rock
- New Concord
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- New Concord is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Concord
- Valatie
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Kinderhook
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Niverville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Harlemville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Harlemville is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlemville
- Canaan Center
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Canaan Center is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canaan Center
- Austerlitz
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Albany County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chatham, with the one closest to Chatham listed first.
- Coeymans
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ravena
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Aquetuck
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Aquetuck is located in Albany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aquetuck
- Selkirk
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Beckers Corners
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Beckers Corners is located in Albany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beckers Corners
- Coeymans Hollow
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- South Bethlehem
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- South Bethlehem is located in Albany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bethlehem
- Alcove
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Bethlehem Center
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Bethlehem Center is located in Albany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem Center
- Glenmont
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Feura Bush
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Delmar
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Dutchess County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chatham, with the one closest to Chatham listed first.
- Jackson Corners
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Jackson Corners is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Corners
- Mount Ross
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Mount Ross is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Ross
- Pine Plains
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Tivoli
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Upper Red Hook
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Upper Red Hook is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Red Hook
- Irondale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Irondale is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irondale
- Spencer Corners
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Spencer Corners is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spencer Corners
- Bethel
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Bethel is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Millerton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Cruger Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cruger Village is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cruger Village
- Milan
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Milan is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milan
- Red Hook
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chatham, with the one closest to Chatham listed first.
- Coxsackie
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Athens
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Medway
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Medway is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medway
- Jefferson Heights
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jefferson Heights is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson Heights
- Catskill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Catskill is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catskill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,815 people
- Leeds
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Surprise
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Gayhead
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Gayhead is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gayhead
- South Cairo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- South Cairo is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Cairo
- Cairo Junction
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Cairo Junction is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo Junction
- Cairo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Greenville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Rensselaer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chatham, with the one closest to Chatham listed first.
- Nassau
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Brainard
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Schodack Landing
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- East Nassau
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- East Nassau is located in Rensselaer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Nassau
- Population from the 2020 Census: 566 people
- East Schodack
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Schodack Center
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Schodack Center is located in Rensselaer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schodack Center
- Hoag Corners
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Hoag Corners is located in Rensselaer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoag Corners
- Castleton-on-Hudson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- East Greenbush
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Luther
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Luther is located in Rensselaer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luther
- Sliters
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Sliters is located in Rensselaer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sliters
- West Stephentown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- West Stephentown is located in Rensselaer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Stephentown
- Saratoga County
- Waterford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Ulster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chatham, with the one closest to Chatham listed first.
- Malden
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Malden is located in Ulster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malden
- Malden has also been known as:
- Malden-on-Hudson
- Quarryville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Quarryville is located in Ulster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quarryville
- Saugerties
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Glasco
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Marion
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Marion Park
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Marion Park is located in Ulster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Marion Park
- Litchfield County (CT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Chatham, with the one closest to Chatham listed first.
- Taconic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Canaan
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Clayton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Clayton is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
- Twin Lakes
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Twin Lakes is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes
- Wangum Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wangum Village is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wangum Village
- Salisbury
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Salisbury is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,584 people
- Salisbury
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- North Canaan
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- North Canaan is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Canaan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,235 people
- Lakeville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Ore Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Ore Hill is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ore Hill
- East Canaan
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Amesville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Amesville is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amesville
- Berkshire County (MA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Chatham, with the one closest to Chatham listed first.
- Richmond
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Richmond is located in Berkshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,410 people
- West Stockbridge
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- West Stockbridge is located in Berkshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Stockbridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,250 people
- Rockdale Mills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Rockdale Mills is located in Berkshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale Mills
- Alford
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Alford is located in Berkshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 485 people
- Stevens Corner
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Stevens Corner is located in Berkshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stevens Corner
- Housatonic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Housatonic is located in Berkshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Housatonic
- Glendale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Glendale is located in Berkshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
- Shaker Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Shaker Village is located in Berkshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
- North Egremont
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- North Egremont is located in Berkshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Egremont
- Lenox
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Lenox is located in Berkshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenox
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,933 people
- Egremont Plain
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Egremont Plain is located in Berkshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egremont Plain
- Egremont
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Egremont is located in Berkshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egremont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,202 people
- Hampshire County (MA)
- Middlefield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Middlefield is located in Hampshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlefield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 538 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Chatham, see our County-by-County Page for Chatham.
Cemeteries Near Chatham ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Chatham.
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 Chatham - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Chatham covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Chatham, with the one closest to Chatham listed first.
- Chatham Rural Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Shufelt Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Columbia County Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- St. James Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Snyder Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ghent Union Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Spencertown Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Red Rock Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Lovejoy - Beebe Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Mountain View Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- West Ghent Reformed Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- German Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (356 more) ...
- The Maples Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Valatie Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Prospect Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
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 Chatham had a population of 1,912 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Chatham had a population of 1,623 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Chatham, with the one closest to Chatham listed first.
- Ghent
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Chatham Center
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Chatham Center is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham Center
- Spencertown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Red Rock
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Red Rock is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Rock
- New Concord
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- New Concord is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Concord
- East Chatham
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- East Chatham is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Chatham
- Old Chatham
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Valatie
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Kinderhook
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Pulvers
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pulvers is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulvers
- Harlemville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Harlemville is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlemville
- Niverville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Sunnyside
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Sunnyside is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyside
- Stuyvesant Falls
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Rossman
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Rossman is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossman
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Chatham. See our List of 1890's Communities around Chatham.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Chatham ...
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 90 newspapers that have been published in the area around Chatham.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Chatham. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Chatham and those printed in the larger area surrounding Chatham.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4> of Chatham.
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 helpful 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:
- Websites specific to New York
- Pages specific to Columbia County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Albany County
- Dutchess County
- Greene County
- Rensselaer County
- Saratoga County
- Ulster County
- Litchfield County
- Berkshire County
- Hampshire County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for New York
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 Chatham, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Chatham) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |