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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 Dayton (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 Dayton. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.

Dayton is located in Cattaraugus 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 Cattaraugus County: Allegany, Chautauqua, Erie, Wyoming, McKean (PA) & Warren (PA).

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

  • Cattaraugus County     (The home county of Dayton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dayton, with the one closest to Dayton listed first.
    • Gowanda
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Gowanda is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowanda
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,524 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gowanda <1>
    • Perrysburg
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Persia
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Persia is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persia
    • Cottage
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Cottage is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage
    • South Dayton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Leon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Cattaraugus
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Otto
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Brooklyn
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Brooklyn is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
    • Axeville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Axeville is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Axeville
    • Conewango
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Conewango is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conewango
    • Eddyville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Eddyville is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eddyville
  • Chautauqua County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dayton, with the one closest to Dayton listed first.
    • Parcells Corners
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Parcells Corners is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parcells Corners
    • Wango
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Wango is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wango
    • Cherry Creek
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Forestville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Irving
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Silver Creek
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Sheridan
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Sinclairville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Cassadaga
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Moons
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Moons is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moons
    • Dunkirk
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Dunkirk is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunkirk
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,701 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dunkirk <1>
    • Fredonia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • Erie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dayton, with the one closest to Dayton listed first.
    • Shirley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Shirley is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shirley
    • Brant
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • North Collins
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Morton Corners
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Morton Corners is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morton Corners
    • Farnham
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Pontiac
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Pontiac is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pontiac
    • Concord
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Concord is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
    • Wyandale
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Wyandale is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyandale
    • Angola
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Lake Erie Beach
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Lake Erie Beach is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Erie Beach
    • Angola-on-the-Lake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Angola-on-the-Lake is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angola-on-the-Lake
    • Eden
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Wyoming County
    • Arcade
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Dayton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dayton.

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 Dayton - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Dayton covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • St. Pauls of the Cross Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Markham Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Jolls Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Cottage Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Park Lawn Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Broadway Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Maltbie Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Snyder Corners Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snyder Corners Cemetery
    • The Snyder Corners Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Malks Cemetery
    • Milks Cemetery
    • Prince Cemetery
    • Rich Valley Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #65158 <2>
  • Pine Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Pine Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Perrysburg Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Rugg-Town / West Perrysburg Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (213 more) ...

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 Dayton had a population of 498 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Markhams
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Markhams is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markhams
  • Wesley
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Wesley is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley
  • Persia
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Persia is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persia
  • Perrysburg
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Gowanda
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Gowanda is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowanda
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,524 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gowanda <1>
  • Cottage
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Cottage is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage
  • East Leon
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • East Leon is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Leon
  • South Dayton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Nashville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Nashville is located in Chautauqua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashville
  • Collins
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Wango
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Wango is located in Chautauqua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wango
  • Versailles
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (20 more) ...
    • Hamlet
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Hamlet is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlet
    • Leon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Cattaraugus
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Dayton ...

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 80 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dayton.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dayton, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dayton.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Dayton:

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 Dayton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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 from Point A (ie- Dayton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.