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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 Cooks Mill (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 Cooks Mill. 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 Cooks Mill ...

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.

  • A typical abbreviation for Cooks Mill: Cooks Ml. (or less commonly used: Cooks Mll.)
  • While the name of this community is Cooks Mill, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Cooks Mill may originally have been Cook's Mill.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Cooks Mill might be written as Cook Mill.

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 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.

Cooks Mill is located in Franklin 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 Franklin County: Clinton, Essex, Hamilton & Saint Lawrence.

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

  • Franklin County     (The home county of Cooks Mill)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cooks Mill, with the one closest to Cooks Mill listed first.
    • Chateaugay
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Burke
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Brainardsville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Constable
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Malone
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Whippleville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Westville Center
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Westville Center. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westville Center
      • Westville Center is located in Franklin County
    • Bangor
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Fort Covington
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Skerry
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Skerry. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skerry
      • Skerry is located in Franklin County
    • West Bangor
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Bangor
      • West Bangor is located in Franklin County
    • Brushton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Clinton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cooks Mill, with the one closest to Cooks Mill listed first.
    • Churubusco
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Harrigan
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Harrigan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrigan
      • Harrigan is located in Clinton County
    • Ellenburg Center
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Lyon Mountain
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Standish
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standish
      • Standish is located in Clinton County
    • Altona
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Altona. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altona
      • Altona is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Altona <2>
    • Mooers Forks
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Woods Falls
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woods Falls
      • Woods Falls is located in Clinton County
    • Mooers
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Dannemora
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Sciola
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sciola
      • Sciola is located in Clinton County
    • Moffitsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffitsville
      • Moffitsville is located in Clinton County
  • Saint Lawrence County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cooks Mill, with the one closest to Cooks Mill listed first.
    • Brasher Iron Works
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brasher Iron Works. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brasher Iron Works
      • Brasher Iron Works is located in Saint Lawrence County
    • Helena
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Rooseveltown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Cooks Mill ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cooks Mill.

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

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

  • Sandy Knoll Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sandy Knoll Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sandy Knoll Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Brayton Hollow Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brayton Hollow Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brayton Hollow Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Thayer Corners Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Thayer Corners Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Thayer Corners Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • North Burke Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Burke Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Burke Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Patricks Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 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.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Howard Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Howard Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Howard Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Burke Center Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Burke Center Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Burke Center Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. George Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. George Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. George Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mitchell Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mitchell Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mitchell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • East Side Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East Side Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the East Side Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Earlville Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Earlville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Earlville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (102 more) ...
    • Pike Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pike Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pike Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Ridgway Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ridgway Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ridgway Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Hillside Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)

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>

While we didn't find Cooks Mill in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Cooks Mill.

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

  • Sun
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sun have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun
    • Sun is located in Franklin County
  • Thayer Corners
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thayer Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thayer Corners
    • Thayer Corners is located in Franklin County
  • Chateaugay
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Burke
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Brainardsville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Trout River
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trout River have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trout River
    • Trout River is located in Franklin County
  • Churubusco
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Malone
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Whippleville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Clinton Mills
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clinton Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton Mills
    • Clinton Mills is located in Clinton County
  • Westville Center
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Westville Center. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westville Center
    • Westville Center is located in Franklin County
  • Ellenburg Center
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Chasm Falls
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chasm Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chasm Falls
      • Chasm Falls is located in Franklin County
    • North Bangor
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Bangor have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bangor
      • North Bangor is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for North Bangor <2>
    • Ellenburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ellenburg have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellenburg
      • Ellenburg is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ellenburg <2>

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

Newspapers Published in Cooks Mill ...

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 28 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cooks Mill.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Cooks Mill, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<7>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Cooks Mill.

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 Cooks Mill:

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<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 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.
<5>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.
<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 Cooks Mill, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Cooks Mill) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Cooks Mill. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.9628, Longitude: -74.1307       In this case, the coordinates for Cooks Mill have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025