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 Keene (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 Keene. 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 doctors and hospitals 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.
Keene is located in Essex 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 Essex County: Clinton, Franklin, Hamilton, Warren, Washington, Addison (VT) & Chittenden (VT).
Below are the counties that are near Keene. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Keene:
- Essex County (The home county of Keene)
- The following are listed by their distance from Keene, with the one closest to Keene listed first.
- Upper Jay
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Saint Huberts
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Saint Huberts is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Huberts
- Jay
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- North Elba
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- North Elba is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Elba
- Wilmington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Lake Placid
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Elizabethtown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Lewis
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Lewis is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewis
- North Jay
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- North Jay is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Jay
- Whiteface
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Whiteface is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteface
- Ray Brook
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Reber
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Reber is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reber
- Bloomingdale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Keene, with the one closest to Keene listed first.
- Black Brook
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Black Brook is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Brook
- Au Sable Forks
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Thomasville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Thomasville is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomasville
- Harkness
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Harkness is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harkness
- Village of Keeseville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Village of Keeseville is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village of Keeseville
- Estimated population in 2015: 1,750 people
- Clayburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Clayburg is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayburg
- Redford
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Ausable Chasm
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Ausable Chasm is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ausable Chasm
- Peru
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Moffitsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Moffitsville is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffitsville
- Laphams Mills
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Laphams Mills is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laphams Mills
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Keene, with the one closest to Keene listed first.
- Franklin Falls
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Franklin Falls is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Falls
- Alder Brook
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Alder Brook is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alder Brook
- Harrietstown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Harrietstown is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrietstown
- Merrillsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Merrillsville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrillsville
- Paul Smiths
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Saranac Inn
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Saranac Inn is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saranac Inn
- Addison County (VT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Keene, with the one closest to Keene listed first.
- Panton
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Panton is located in Addison County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 718 people
- Chimney Point
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Chimney Point is located in Addison County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chimney Point
- Ferrisburgh
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Ferrisburgh is located in Addison County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferrisburgh
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,691 people
- Addison
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Addison is located in Addison County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,320 people
- Ferrisburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Ferrisburg is located in Addison County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferrisburg
- North Ferrisburgh Station
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Addison
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Vergennes
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Palmer Corner
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Palmer Corner is located in Addison County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer Corner
- North Ferrisburgh
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Waltham
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Waltham is located in Addison County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waltham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 462 people
- Bridport
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bridport is located in Addison County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridport
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,184 people
- Bridport
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Chittenden County (VT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Keene, with the one closest to Keene listed first.
- Charlotte
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Charlotte
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Charlotte is located in Chittenden County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlotte
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,783 people
- Shelburne
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Shelburne is located in Chittenden County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelburne
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,649 people
- Shelburne
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- East Charlotte
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- East Charlotte is located in Chittenden County (VT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Charlotte
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Keene, see our County-by-County Page for Keene.
Cemeteries Near Keene ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Keene.
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 Keene - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Keene covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Keene, with the one closest to Keene listed first.
- Norton Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Ingalls Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Shaw Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Holt Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Estes Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Mountain View Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Malbone Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Central Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- North Elba Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- John Browns Grave
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Haselton Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Fairview Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (113 more) ...
- North Jay Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Black River Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Franklin Falls Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Keene had a population of 133 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Keene, with the one closest to Keene listed first.
- Keene Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Upper Jay
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Jay
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- North Elba
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- North Elba is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Elba
- Lake Placid
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Wilmington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- New Russia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Elizabethtown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Haselton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Haselton is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haselton
- Lewis
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Lewis is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewis
- Au Sable Forks
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Black Brook
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Black Brook is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Brook
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Ray Brook
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Franklin Falls
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Franklin Falls is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Falls
- Reber
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Reber is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reber
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Keene. See our List of 1890's Communities around Keene.
Newspapers Published in Keene ...
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 29 newspapers that have been published in the area around Keene.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Keene, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Keene.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Keene:
- Websites specific to New York
- Pages specific to Essex County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clinton County
- Franklin County
- Addison County
- Chittenden 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 Keene, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Keene) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |