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 Cowan Corner (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 Cowan Corner. 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 Cowan Corner ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Cowan Corner: Cowan Cor. (or less commonly used: Cowan Crn.)
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.
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 north 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.
Cowan Corner 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 Cowan Corner. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Cowan Corner:
- Jefferson County (The home county of Cowan Corner)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cowan Corner, with the one closest to Cowan Corner listed first.
- Natural Bridge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Carthage
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Herrings
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Herrings is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrings
- Estimated population in 2017: 90 people
- West Carthage
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- West Carthage is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Carthage
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,901 people
- Deferiet
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Sterlingville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sterlingville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterlingville
- Great Bend
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Antwerp
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Philadelphia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Black River
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Evans Mills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Calcium
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Oxbow
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Lewis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cowan Corner, with the one closest to Cowan Corner listed first.
- Forest City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Forest City is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
- Lake Bonaparte
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Bonaparte is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Bonaparte
- Denmark
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Denmark is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Naumburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Naumburg is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naumburg
- Indian River
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Indian River is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian River
- Jerden Falls
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Jerden Falls is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerden Falls
- Castorland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Briggs Corner
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Briggs Corner is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briggs Corner
- Copenhagen
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Harrisville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Belfort
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Belfort is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belfort
- Croghan
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Harrisburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Harrisburg is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg
- Saint Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cowan Corner, with the one closest to Cowan Corner listed first.
- Somerville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Somerville is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerville
- Wegatchie
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Wegatchie is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wegatchie
- Jayville ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Jayville is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jayville
- Gouverneur
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Elmdale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Elmdale is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmdale
- Talcville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Talcville is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talcville
- South Edwards
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- South Edwards is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Edwards
- Edwards
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Edwards is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards
- Estimated population in 2012: 433 people
- Coffins Mills
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Coffins Mills is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffins Mills
- Oswegatchie
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Lower Oswegatchie
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lower Oswegatchie is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Oswegatchie
- Star Lake
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Richville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Cowan Corner, see our County-by-County Page for Cowan Corner.
Cemeteries Near Cowan Corner ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cowan Corner.
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 Cowan Corner - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Cowan Corner covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Cowan Corner, with the one closest to Cowan Corner listed first.
- Natural Bridge Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Hillside Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Fairview Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Blanchard Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- St. James Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Sunnyside Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- F W Woolworth Memorial Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Swinburne Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Hillside Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hillside Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Oswegatchie Corners Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Sheepfold Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Continue List (134 more) ...
- Hillside Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Plank Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Union Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 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.<3>
While we didn't find Cowan Corner in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Cowan Corner.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Cowan Corner, with the one closest to Cowan Corner listed first.
- Natural Bridge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- North Wilna
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- North Wilna is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Wilna
- Carthage
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Sterlingville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sterlingville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterlingville
- Deer River
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Great Bend
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Champion
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Champion is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Champion
- Felts Mills
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Antwerp
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Denmark
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Denmark is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Naumburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Naumburg is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naumburg
- Indian River
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Indian River is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian River
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Lake Bonaparte
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Bonaparte is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Bonaparte
- Philadelphia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Castorland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Cowan Corner. See our List of 1890's Communities around Cowan Corner.
Newspapers Published in Cowan Corner ...
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 117 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cowan Corner.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Cowan Corner, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Cowan Corner.
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 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 Cowan Corner:
- Websites specific to New York
- Pages specific to Jefferson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Lewis County
- Saint Lawrence 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 Cowan Corner, 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- Cowan Corner) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |