RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of New York >> Franklin County >> Forestdale >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Forestdale (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 Forestdale. 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 southwest 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 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 west 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.

Forestdale is located in Franklin 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 Franklin County: Clinton, Essex, Hamilton & Saint Lawrence.

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

  • Franklin County     (The home county of Forestdale)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forestdale, with the one closest to Forestdale listed first.
    • Franklin Falls
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Franklin Falls is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Falls
    • Alder Brook
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Alder Brook is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alder Brook
    • Merrillsville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Merrillsville is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrillsville
    • Harrietstown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Harrietstown is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrietstown
    • Paul Smiths
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Saranac Inn
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Saranac Inn is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saranac Inn
    • Brainardsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Whippleville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Altamont
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Altamont is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
    • Tupper Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Clinton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forestdale, with the one closest to Forestdale listed first.
    • Black Brook
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Black Brook is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Brook
    • Clayburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Clayburg is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayburg
    • Au Sable Forks
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Redford
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Thomasville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Thomasville is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomasville
    • Moffitsville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Moffitsville is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffitsville
    • Standish
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Standish is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standish
    • Harkness
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Harkness is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harkness
    • Lyon Mountain
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Peru
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Cadyville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Dannemora
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Essex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forestdale, with the one closest to Forestdale listed first.
    • Wilmington
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Bloomingdale
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Upper Jay
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Whiteface
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Whiteface is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteface
    • Jay
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Lake Placid
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • North Jay
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • North Jay is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Jay
    • Ray Brook
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Saranac Lake
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • North Elba
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • North Elba is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Elba
    • Saint Huberts
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Saint Huberts is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Huberts
    • Lewis
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Lewis is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewis

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

Cemeteries Near Forestdale ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Forestdale.

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

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

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

  • Union Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Franklin Falls Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Goodspeed Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • St. Rose Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Malbone Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Haselton Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Union Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Brookside Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Merrillsville Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Central Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (76 more) ...
    • Holy Name Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Mountain View Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Mountain View Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)

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 Forestdale in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Forestdale.

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

  • Franklin Falls
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Franklin Falls is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Falls
  • Union Falls
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Union Falls is located in Clinton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Falls
  • Alder Brook
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Alder Brook is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alder Brook
  • Wilmington
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Haselton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Haselton is located in Essex County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haselton
  • Vermontville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Bloomingdale
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Black Brook
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Black Brook is located in Clinton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Brook
  • Upper Jay
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Goldsmith
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Goldsmith is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldsmith
  • Jay
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Loon Lake
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Loon Lake is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loon Lake
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Lake Placid
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Clayburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Clayburg is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayburg
    • Harrietstown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Harrietstown is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrietstown

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

Newspapers Published in Forestdale ...

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 67 newspapers that have been published in the area around Forestdale.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Forestdale, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Forestdale.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Forestdale:

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 Forestdale, 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- Forestdale) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.