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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 Keepawa (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 Keepawa. 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 and hospitals 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.

Keepawa is primarily located in Hamilton County. A portion of Keepawa extends into Herkimer 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 Hamilton County: Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Herkimer, Saint Lawrence, Saratoga & Warren.

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

  • Hamilton County     (The home county of Keepawa)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Keepawa, with the one closest to Keepawa listed first.
    • Raquette Lake
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Inlet
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Blue Mountain Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Sabael
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Keepawa, with the one closest to Keepawa listed first.
    • Altamont
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Altamont is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
    • Tupper Lake
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Herkimer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Keepawa, with the one closest to Keepawa listed first.
    • Beaver River
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Thendara
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Thendara is located in Herkimer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thendara
  • Lewis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Keepawa, with the one closest to Keepawa listed first.
    • Number Four
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Number Four is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Number Four
    • Belfort
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Belfort is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belfort
    • Jerden Falls
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Jerden Falls is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerden Falls
    • Crystal Dale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Crystal Dale is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Dale
    • Indian River
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Indian River is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian River
    • Harrisville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Croghan
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Petries Corners
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Petries Corners is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petries Corners
    • Lake Bonaparte
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Lake Bonaparte is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Bonaparte
    • Forest City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Forest City is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
  • Saint Lawrence County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Keepawa, with the one closest to Keepawa listed first.
    • Wanakena
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Horseshoe
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Horseshoe is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horseshoe
    • Star Lake
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Cranberry Lake
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Coffins Mills
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Coffins Mills is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffins Mills
    • Lower Oswegatchie
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Lower Oswegatchie is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Oswegatchie
    • Newton Falls
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Oswegatchie
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Jayville ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jayville is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jayville
    • Sevey
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Sevey is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sevey
    • South Edwards
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • South Edwards is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Edwards
    • Degrasse
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Degrasse is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Degrasse

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

Cemeteries Near Keepawa ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Keepawa.

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

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

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

  • Wanakena Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • St. Huberts Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Riverview Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Cranberry Lake Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Oswegatchie Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Long Lake Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Michaels Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
  • Woodland Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
  • Tinney Corners Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
  • East Pitcairn Cemetery
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Beth Joseph Cemetery
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Lakeview Cemetery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • St. Alphonsus Cemetery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Wetmore Cemetery
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)

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>

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

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

  • Raquette Lake
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Benson Mines
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Benson Mines is located in Saint Lawrence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benson Mines
  • Number Four
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Number Four is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Number Four
  • Old Forge
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Cranberry Lake
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Oswegatchie
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Coffins Mills
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Coffins Mills is located in Saint Lawrence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffins Mills
  • Long Lake
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
  • Blue Mountain Lake
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  • Jayville ‑ Historic
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jayville is located in Saint Lawrence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jayville
  • Minnehaha
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Minnehaha is located in Herkimer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnehaha
  • Gale
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Gale is located in Saint Lawrence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gale
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Childwold
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Sevey
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Sevey is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sevey
    • Fine
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Keepawa ...

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 13 newspapers that have been published in the area around Keepawa.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Keepawa, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Keepawa.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Keepawa:

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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Keepawa) 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 Keepawa, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.