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 Fort Plain (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 Fort Plain. 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 Fort Plain ...
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 occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Fort Plain: Ft. Plain
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Fort Plain. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Fort Plain.
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.
Fort Plain is primarily located in Herkimer County. A portion of Fort Plain extends into Montgomery 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 Herkimer County: Fulton, Hamilton, Lewis, Madison, Montgomery, Oneida, Otsego & Saint Lawrence.
Below are the counties that are near Fort Plain. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Fort Plain:
- Herkimer County (The home county of Fort Plain)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fort Plain, with the one closest to Fort Plain listed first.
- Starkville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Starkville is located in Herkimer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starkville
- Newville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Newville is located in Herkimer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newville
- Deck
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Deck is located in Herkimer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deck
- Dolgeville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Little Falls
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Paines Hollow
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Paines Hollow is located in Herkimer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paines Hollow
- Edicks
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Edicks is located in Herkimer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edicks
- Jacksonburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Jacksonburg is located in Herkimer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonburg
- Salisbury Center
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Salisbury
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Salisbury is located in Herkimer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
- Cullen
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Cullen is located in Herkimer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cullen
- East Herkimer
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- East Herkimer is located in Herkimer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Herkimer
- Herkimer
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Delaware County
- Simpsonville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Simpsonville is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpsonville
- Fulton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fort Plain, with the one closest to Fort Plain listed first.
- Ephratah
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ephratah is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ephratah
- Lassellsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Lassellsville is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lassellsville
- Crum Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Crum Creek is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crum Creek
- Garoga
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Garoga is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garoga
- Sammonsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Sammonsville is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sammonsville
- Rockwood
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Rockwood is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockwood
- Johnstown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Middle Sprite
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Middle Sprite is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Sprite
- Emmonsburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Emmonsburg is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmonsburg
- Meco
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Meco is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meco
- Gloversville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Berkshire
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Berkshire is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkshire
- Progress
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Progress is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Progress
- Hamilton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fort Plain, with the one closest to Fort Plain listed first.
- Arietta
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Arietta is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arietta
- Benson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Benson is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benson
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fort Plain, with the one closest to Fort Plain listed first.
- Nelliston
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Canajoharie
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Palatine Bridge
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hallsville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Hallsville is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallsville
- Saint Johnsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Buel
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Buel is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buel
- Brookman Corners
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Brookman Corners is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookman Corners
- Mindenville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mindenville is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mindenville
- Ames
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Sprout Brook
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Flat Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Flat Creek is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Creek
- Randall
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Randall is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randall
- Lykers
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lykers is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lykers
- Otsego County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fort Plain, with the one closest to Fort Plain listed first.
- Cherry Valley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Center Valley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Center Valley is located in Otsego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Valley
- Middle Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Middle Village is located in Otsego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Village
- Springfield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Springfield is located in Otsego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Springfield Center
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Middlefield Center
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Middlefield Center is located in Otsego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlefield Center
- Roseboom
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- South Valley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- South Valley is located in Otsego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Valley
- Pleasant Brook
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Brook is located in Otsego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Brook
- Richfield Springs
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Middlefield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Middlefield is located in Otsego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlefield
- Calcutta
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Calcutta is located in Otsego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calcutta
- Brighton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Brighton is located in Otsego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Saratoga County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fort Plain, with the one closest to Fort Plain listed first.
- Hagedorns Mills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Hagedorns Mills is located in Saratoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagedorns Mills
- Whiteside Corners
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Whiteside Corners is located in Saratoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteside Corners
- Galway
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- West Charlton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- West Charlton is located in Saratoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Charlton
- Schenectady County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fort Plain, with the one closest to Fort Plain listed first.
- Braman Corners
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Braman Corners is located in Schenectady County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braman Corners
- Mariaville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Delanson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mariaville Lake
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Mariaville Lake is located in Schenectady County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mariaville Lake
- Pattersonville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Duanesburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Duanesburg is located in Schenectady County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duanesburg
- Glenville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Pattersonville - Rotterdam Junction
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Rotterdam Junction
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Rynex Corners
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Rynex Corners is located in Schenectady County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rynex Corners
- Duane Lake
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Duane Lake is located in Schenectady County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duane Lake
- Princetown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Princetown is located in Schenectady County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princetown
- Schoharie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fort Plain, with the one closest to Fort Plain listed first.
- Leesville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Leesville is located in Schoharie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesville
- Sharon Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Argusville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Argusville is located in Schoharie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argusville
- Seward
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Seward is located in Schoharie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seward
- Janesville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Janesville is located in Schoharie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janesville
- Lawyersville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Lawyersville is located in Schoharie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawyersville
- Cobleskill
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Warnerville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Richmondville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Howes Cave
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mineral Springs
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mineral Springs is located in Schoharie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Springs
- Central Bridge
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Esperance
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Fort Plain, see our County-by-County Page for Fort Plain.
Cemeteries Near Fort Plain ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fort Plain.
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 Fort Plain - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Fort Plain covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Fort Plain, with the one closest to Fort Plain listed first.
- Nelliston Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Ft. Plain Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Frey Bush Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Dunkel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Yerding Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- The Yerding Cemetery is located on private property - be sure to secure permission before visiting.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yerding Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Yerding Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the west of Canajoharie.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #66801 <2>
- Walrath Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Prospect Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Canajoharie Falls Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Palatine Bridge Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Wiles Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Edwards Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Nellis Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Continue List (432 more) ...
- Klock Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Coleman Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Prospect View Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Fort Plain had a population of 2,864 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Fort Plain had a population of 2,218 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Fort Plain, with the one closest to Fort Plain listed first.
- Nelliston
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Freysbush
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Freysbush is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freysbush
- Marshville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Marshville is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshville
- Canajoharie
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Palatine Bridge
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Stone Arabia
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Stone Arabia is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Arabia
- Hallsville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Hallsville is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallsville
- Buel
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Buel is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buel
- Saint Johnsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Sprout Brook
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ames
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Sprakers
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Ephratah
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ephratah is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ephratah
- Mindenville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mindenville is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mindenville
- Salt Springville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Salt Springville is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Springville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Fort Plain. See our List of 1890's Communities around Fort Plain.
Newspapers Published in Fort Plain ...
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 137 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fort Plain.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fort Plain, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fort Plain.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Fort Plain:
- Websites specific to New York
- Pages specific to Herkimer County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Delaware County
- Fulton County
- Hamilton County
- Montgomery County
- Otsego County
- Saratoga County
- Schenectady County
- Schoharie 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> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Fort Plain) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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 Fort Plain, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |