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 Griffiths (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 Griffiths. 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 Griffiths ...
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.
While the name of this community is Griffiths, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Griffiths may originally have been Griffith's.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Griffiths. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Griffiths.
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 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.
Griffiths is located in Chautauqua 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 Chautauqua County: Cattaraugus, Erie, Erie (PA) & Warren (PA).
Below are the counties that are near Griffiths. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Griffiths:
- Chautauqua County (The home county of Griffiths)
- The following are listed by their distance from Griffiths, with the one closest to Griffiths listed first.
- Greenhurst
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Fluvanna
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Fluvanna is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fluvanna
- Belleview
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Belleview is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleview
- Lakewood
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Celoron
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Phillips Mills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Phillips Mills is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillips Mills
- Ashville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jamestown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Bemus Point
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Quigley Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Quigley Park is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quigley Park
- Ross Mills
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Ross Mills is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross Mills
- Bayview
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Bayview is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayview
- Cattaraugus County
- The following are listed by their distance from Griffiths, with the one closest to Griffiths listed first.
- Conewango
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Conewango is located in Cattaraugus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conewango
- Randolph
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Onoville
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Onoville is located in Cattaraugus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onoville
- East Randolph
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- East Randolph is located in Cattaraugus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Randolph
- Estimated population in 2012: 615 people
- Leon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Axeville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Axeville is located in Cattaraugus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Axeville
- South Dayton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Elko ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Elko is located in Cattaraugus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elko
- Elko has also been known as:
- Wolf Run
- Napoli
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Napoli is located in Cattaraugus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napoli
- Quaker Bridge ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Quaker Bridge is located in Cattaraugus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker Bridge
- Quaker Bridge has also been known as:
- Tunesassa
- Cold Spring
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Cold Spring is located in Cattaraugus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Spring
- Cottage
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cottage is located in Cattaraugus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage
- Crawford County (PA)
- Spartansburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Erie County (PA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Griffiths, with the one closest to Griffiths listed first.
- Corry
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Beaver Dam
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Beaver Dam is located in Erie County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Dam
- Elgin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Elgin is located in Erie County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 204 people
- Wattsburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Freeport
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Freeport is located in Erie County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport
- Hornby
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Hornby is located in Erie County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornby
- North East
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Arbuckle
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Arbuckle is located in Erie County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbuckle
- Phillipsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Phillipsville is located in Erie County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillipsville
- Warren County (PA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Griffiths, with the one closest to Griffiths listed first.
- Sugar Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Bear Lake
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lottsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Lottsville is located in Warren County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lottsville
- Putnamville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Putnamville is located in Warren County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putnamville
- Youngsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Columbus
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Irvine
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Pittsfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Colza
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Colza is located in Warren County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colza
- East Warren
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- East Warren is located in Warren County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Warren
- Warren
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Garland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Garland is located in Warren County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Griffiths, see our County-by-County Page for Griffiths.
Cemeteries Near Griffiths ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Griffiths.
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 Griffiths - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Griffiths covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Griffiths, with the one closest to Griffiths listed first.
- Bentley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Sunset Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Maple Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Holy Cross Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Holy Sepulchre Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Gardner Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Wellman Road Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Wilcox Road Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lake View Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Bemus Point Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Blockville Union Burying Ground
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Hatch Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (192 more) ...
- Mt. Olivet Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Pine Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Knapp Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
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.<5>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Griffiths had railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Griffiths, with the one closest to Griffiths listed first.
- Greenhurst
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Driftwood
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Driftwood is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Driftwood
- Lakewood
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Fluvanna
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Fluvanna is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fluvanna
- Belleview
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Belleview is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleview
- Colburns
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Colburns is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colburns
- Ashville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Boomertown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Boomertown is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boomertown
- Phillips Mills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Phillips Mills is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillips Mills
- Jamestown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Bemus Point
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Stow
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Blockville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Blockville is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blockville
- Ross Mills
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Ross Mills is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross Mills
- Bayview
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Bayview is located in Chautauqua County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayview
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Griffiths. See our List of 1890's Communities around Griffiths.
Newspapers Published in Griffiths ...
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 147 newspapers that have been published in the area around Griffiths.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Griffiths, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Griffiths.
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 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 Griffiths:
- Websites specific to New York
- Pages specific to Chautauqua County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cattaraugus County
- Crawford County
- Erie County
- Warren County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for New York
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Griffiths) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <5> | 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 Griffiths, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |