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 East Aurora (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 East Aurora. 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 East Aurora ...
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 East Aurora: E. Aurora
You might be interested in other communities that are also named East Aurora. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for East Aurora.
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 southeast 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 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 east 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.
East Aurora is located in Erie 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 Erie County: Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Genesee, Niagara & Wyoming.
Below are the counties that are near East Aurora. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to East Aurora:
- Erie County (The home county of East Aurora)
- The following are listed by their distance from East Aurora, with the one closest to East Aurora listed first.
- Billington Heights
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Billington Heights is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billington Heights
- Porterville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Porterville is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porterville
- Griffins Mills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Griffins Mills is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffins Mills
- Elma Center
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Elma Center is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elma Center
- Spring Brook
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Jewettville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Jewettville is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewettville
- Elma
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- West Falls
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- West Falls is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Falls
- Williston
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ellicott
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Ellicott is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellicott
- Orchard Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Webster Corners
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Webster Corners is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster Corners
- Webster Corners has also been known as:
- Websters Corners
- Allegany County
- Fairview
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Fairview is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Cattaraugus County
- The following are listed by their distance from East Aurora, with the one closest to East Aurora listed first.
- Yorkshire
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Yorkshire is located in Cattaraugus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkshire
- Delevan
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Brooklyn
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Brooklyn is located in Cattaraugus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
- Elton
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Elton is located in Cattaraugus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elton
- Machias
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Gowanda
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bird
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Bird is located in Cattaraugus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bird
- Perrysburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Franklinville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Otto
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Chautauqua County
- Irving
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Genesee County
- The following are listed by their distance from East Aurora, with the one closest to East Aurora listed first.
- Griswold
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Griswold is located in Genesee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griswold
- Corfu
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sawens
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sawens is located in Genesee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawens
- Amherst
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Amherst is located in Genesee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst
- Alexander
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Indian Falls
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Indian Falls is located in Genesee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Falls
- North Pembroke
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- North Pembroke is located in Genesee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Pembroke
- Basom
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Brookville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Brookville is located in Genesee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookville
- West Bethany
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- West Bethany is located in Genesee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Bethany
- Bushville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Bushville is located in Genesee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushville
- East Alexander
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- East Alexander is located in Genesee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Alexander
- Niagara County
- The following are listed by their distance from East Aurora, with the one closest to East Aurora listed first.
- Park Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Park Village is located in Niagara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Village
- Rapids
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Rapids is located in Niagara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapids
- Martinsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Martinsville is located in Niagara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsville
- North Tonawanda
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- North Tonawanda is located in Niagara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Tonawanda
- Population from the 2020 Census: 30,050 people
- Raymond
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Raymond is located in Niagara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond
- Hoffman
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Hoffman is located in Niagara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoffman
- Wurlitzer Park Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Pendleton Center
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Pendleton Center is located in Niagara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pendleton Center
- Dysinger
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Dysinger is located in Niagara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dysinger
- South Lockport
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- South Lockport is located in Niagara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Lockport
- Saint Johnsburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Johnsburg is located in Niagara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johnsburg
- Bergholtz
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bergholtz is located in Niagara County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bergholtz
- Wyoming County
- The following are listed by their distance from East Aurora, with the one closest to East Aurora listed first.
- Harris Corners
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Harris Corners is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Corners
- Folsomdale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Folsomdale is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folsomdale
- Java Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Curriers
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Curriers is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curriers
- Java Center
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Johnsonburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Johnsonburg is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsonburg
- North Java
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Varysburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Attica
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Arcade
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Smiths Corner
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Smiths Corner is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths Corner
- Bliss
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to East Aurora, see our County-by-County Page for East Aurora.
Cemeteries Near East Aurora ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of East Aurora.
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 East Aurora - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for East Aurora covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from East Aurora, with the one closest to East Aurora listed first.
- Griffins Mills Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Holmes Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Maple Rest Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Union Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Goodleberg Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Marilla Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Maplewood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Neischell Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Humphrey Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Angle Road Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Continue List (347 more) ...
- Hunter Creek Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Partridge Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Holland Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
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 East Aurora had a population of 1,582 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, East Aurora had a population of 6,165 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from East Aurora, with the one closest to East Aurora listed first.
- East Elma
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- East Elma is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Elma
- Jamison Road
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Jamison Road is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamison Road
- Griffins Mills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Griffins Mills is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffins Mills
- Porterville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Porterville is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porterville
- Elma Center
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Elma Center is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elma Center
- Jewettville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Jewettville is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewettville
- South Wales
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Wales Center
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Spring Brook
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Elma
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- West Falls
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- West Falls is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Falls
- Marilla
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (23 more) ...
- Spring Brook Station
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Ellicott
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Ellicott is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellicott
- Williston
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around East Aurora. See our List of 1890's Communities around East Aurora.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of East Aurora ...
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 284 newspapers that have been published in the area around East Aurora.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of East Aurora. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of East Aurora and those printed in the larger area surrounding East Aurora.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4> of East Aurora.
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 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 East Aurora:
- Websites specific to New York
- Pages specific to Erie County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegany County
- Cattaraugus County
- Chautauqua County
- Genesee County
- Niagara County
- Wyoming 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 East Aurora, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- East Aurora) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |