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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 Forest City (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 Forest City. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and 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.

Forest City is located in Lewis 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 Lewis County: Herkimer, Jefferson, Oneida, Oswego & Saint Lawrence.

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

  • Lewis County     (The home county of Forest City)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest City, with the one closest to Forest City listed first.
    • Indian River
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Indian River is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian River
    • Croghan
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Naumburg
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Naumburg is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naumburg
    • Belfort
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Belfort is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belfort
    • Castorland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jerden Falls
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jerden Falls is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerden Falls
    • Briggs Corner
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Briggs Corner is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briggs Corner
    • Denmark
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Denmark is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
    • Petries Corners
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Petries Corners is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petries Corners
    • Crystal Dale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Crystal Dale is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Dale
    • Lowville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Harrisburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Harrisburg is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg
  • Herkimer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest City, with the one closest to Forest City listed first.
    • Beaver River
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Thendara
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Thendara is located in Herkimer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thendara
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest City, with the one closest to Forest City listed first.
    • Natural Bridge
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Carthage
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • West Carthage
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • West Carthage is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Carthage
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,901 people
    • Herrings
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Herrings is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrings
      • Estimated population in 2017: 90 people
    • Deferiet
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Great Bend
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Sterlingville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Sterlingville is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterlingville
    • Black River
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Antwerp
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Philadelphia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Evans Mills
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Calcium
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
  • Saint Lawrence County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest City, with the one closest to Forest City listed first.
    • Jayville ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Jayville is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jayville
    • Somerville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Somerville is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerville
    • Coffins Mills
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Coffins Mills is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffins Mills
    • Lower Oswegatchie
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Lower Oswegatchie is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Oswegatchie
    • Oswegatchie
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • South Edwards
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • South Edwards is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Edwards
    • Star Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Talcville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Talcville is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talcville
    • Wegatchie
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Wegatchie is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wegatchie
    • Gouverneur
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Edwards
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Edwards is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards
      • Estimated population in 2012: 433 people
    • Elmdale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Elmdale is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmdale

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

Cemeteries Near Forest City ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Forest City.

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 Forest City - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Union Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Salem Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Basselin Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Stephens Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Sunnyside Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Swinburne Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Hillside Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • St. James Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Hillside Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Natural Bridge Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (109 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>

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

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

  • Indian River
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Indian River is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian River
  • Naumburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Naumburg is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naumburg
  • Beaver Falls
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Croghan
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Castorland
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Belfort
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Belfort is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belfort
  • Deer River
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Denmark
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Denmark is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
  • New Bremen
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • New Bremen is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bremen
  • Kirschnerville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Kirschnerville is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirschnerville
  • Jerden Falls
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jerden Falls is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerden Falls
  • Natural Bridge
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Carthage
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Petries Corners
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Petries Corners is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petries Corners
    • Crystal Dale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Crystal Dale is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Dale

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

Newspapers Published in Forest City ...

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 121 newspapers that have been published in the area around Forest City.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Forest City, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Forest City.

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 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 Forest City:

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 Forest City, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Forest City) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.