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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 Crains Mills (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 Crains Mills. 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 Crains Mills ...

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 Crains Mills: Crains Mls. (or less commonly used: Crains Mlls.)
  • While the name of this community is Crains Mills, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Crains Mills may originally have been Crain's Mills.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Crains Mills might be written as Crain Mills.

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Crains Mills is located in Cortland 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 Cortland County: Broome, Cayuga, Chenango, Madison, Onondaga, Tioga & Tompkins.

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

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

Cemeteries Near Crains Mills ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Crains Mills.

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 Crains Mills covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Truxton Village Protestant Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Truxton Village Protestant Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Truxton Village Protestant Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Patricks Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • 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.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Winne Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Winne Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Winne Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cheningo Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cheningo Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cheningo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cuyler Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cuyler Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cuyler Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cuyler Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cuyler Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cuyler Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lee Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lee Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lee Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • East Homer Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East Homer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the East Homer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Albro Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Albro Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Albro Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Keeney Settlement Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Keeney Settlement Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Keeney Settlement Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sessions Hill Neighborhood Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sessions Hill Neighborhood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sessions Hill Neighborhood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Potter Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Potter Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Potter Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (471 more) ...
    • Old Presbyterian Church Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Presbyterian Church Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Presbyterian Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Maplewood Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maplewood Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maplewood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Woodlawn Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodlawn Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodlawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Crains Mills had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Truxton
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Cheningo
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cheningo have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheningo
    • Cheningo is located in Cortland County
  • Cuyler
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cuyler have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuyler
    • Cuyler is located in Cortland County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cuyler <2>
  • East Homer
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Keeney
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Keeney have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keeney
    • Keeney is located in Cortland County
  • Lincklaen
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lincklaen have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincklaen
    • Lincklaen is located in Chenango County
  • DeRuyter
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • East River
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Solon
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Solon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solon
    • Solon is located in Cortland County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Solon
    • From Crains Mills to Solon
  • Taylor Center
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Taylor Center have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor Center
    • Taylor Center is located in Cortland County
  • Lincklaen Center
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lincklaen Center have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincklaen Center
    • Lincklaen Center is located in Chenango County
  • Preble
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Apulia
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Apulia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apulia
      • Apulia is located in Onondaga County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Apulia
      • From Crains Mills to Apulia
    • Taylor Valley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Taylor Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor Valley
      • Taylor Valley is located in Cortland County
    • Apulia Station
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Apulia Station have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apulia Station
      • Apulia Station is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Apulia Station <2>

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

Newspapers Published in Crains Mills ...

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 64 newspapers that have been published in the area around Crains Mills.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Crains Mills, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Crains Mills.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Crains Mills:

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

The official website for Cortland County: www.cortland-co.org/

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>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.
<4>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.
<5>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 Crains Mills, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Crains Mills) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Crains Mills. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.7095, Longitude: -76.0056    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025