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 Lake Desolation (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 Lake Desolation. 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 Lake Desolation ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Lake Desolation: Lk. Desolation
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 and doctors 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.
Lake Desolation is located in Saratoga 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 Saratoga County: Albany, Fulton, Hamilton, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Warren & Washington.
Below are the counties that are near Lake Desolation. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Lake Desolation:
- Saratoga County (The home county of Lake Desolation)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Desolation, with the one closest to Lake Desolation listed first.
- Porter Corners
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Greenfield
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Greenfield is located in Saratoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
- Rock City Falls
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- South Greenfield
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- South Greenfield is located in Saratoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Greenfield
- Mosherville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Mosherville is located in Saratoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mosherville
- South Corinth
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- South Corinth is located in Saratoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Corinth
- Batchellerville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Batchellerville is located in Saratoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batchellerville
- Milton Center
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Milton Center is located in Saratoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton Center
- Hagedorns Mills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hagedorns Mills is located in Saratoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagedorns Mills
- Whiteside Corners
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Whiteside Corners is located in Saratoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteside Corners
- Galway
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Factory Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Factory Village is located in Saratoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Factory Village
- Birchton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Birchton is located in Saratoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birchton
- Albany County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Desolation, with the one closest to Lake Desolation listed first.
- Lisha Kill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Lisha Kill is located in Albany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisha Kill
- Fullers
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Fullers is located in Albany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fullers
- Latham
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Cohoes
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Altamont
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Colonie
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Guilderland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Hartmans Corners
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Hartmans Corners is located in Albany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartmans Corners
- Newtonville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Westmere
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Westmere is located in Albany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westmere
- Green Island
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Watervliet
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Watervliet is located in Albany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watervliet
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,807 people
- Former names for Watervliet:
- Gibbonsville
- Port Schuyler
- West Troy
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Watervliet <1>
- Fulton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Desolation, with the one closest to Lake Desolation listed first.
- Union Mills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Union Mills is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Mills
- Mills Corners
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Mills Corners is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mills Corners
- North Broadalbin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- North Broadalbin is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Broadalbin
- Northville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Broadalbin
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Cranberry Creek
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Cranberry Creek is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranberry Creek
- Perth
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Perth is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perth
- Mayfield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Jackson Summit
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Jackson Summit is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Summit
- Progress
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Progress is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Progress
- Berkshire
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Berkshire is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkshire
- Gloversville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Meco
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Meco is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meco
- Hamilton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Desolation, with the one closest to Lake Desolation listed first.
- Benson
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Benson is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benson
- Hope
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Hope is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
- Blackbridge ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Blackbridge is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackbridge
- Wells
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Gilmantown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Gilmantown is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmantown
- Arietta
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Arietta is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arietta
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Desolation, with the one closest to Lake Desolation listed first.
- Hagaman
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wallins Corners
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wallins Corners is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallins Corners
- Harrower
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Harrower is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrower
- Cranesville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rockton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rockton is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockton
- Amsterdam
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Fort Johnson
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Tribes Hill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Auriesville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Fonda
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Fultonville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Burtonsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Burtonsville is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burtonsville
- Randall
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Randall is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randall
- Rensselaer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Desolation, with the one closest to Lake Desolation listed first.
- Schaghticoke
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Valley Falls
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Johnsonville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasantdale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasantdale is located in Rensselaer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasantdale
- Lansingburgh
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Lansingburgh is located in Rensselaer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lansingburgh
- Buskirk
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Schenectady County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Desolation, with the one closest to Lake Desolation listed first.
- Glenville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Pattersonville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- East Glenville
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- East Glenville is located in Schenectady County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Glenville
- Pattersonville - Rotterdam Junction
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Rotterdam Junction
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Stoodley Corners
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Stoodley Corners is located in Schenectady County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoodley Corners
- Alplaus
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Aqueduct
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Aqueduct is located in Schenectady County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aqueduct
- Scotia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Mariaville Lake
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Mariaville Lake is located in Schenectady County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mariaville Lake
- Mariaville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Rynex Corners
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Rynex Corners is located in Schenectady County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rynex Corners
- Schenectady
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Schoharie County
- Esperance
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Warren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Desolation, with the one closest to Lake Desolation listed first.
- Lake Luzerne
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- West Glens Falls
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- West Glens Falls is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Glens Falls
- Harrisburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Harrisburg is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg
- Stony Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Glens Falls
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lake George
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Queensbury
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Athol
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Warrensburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Brayton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Brayton is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brayton
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Desolation, with the one closest to Lake Desolation listed first.
- Fort Edward
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- North Easton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- North Easton is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Easton
- Hudson Falls
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Crandall Corners
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Crandall Corners is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crandall Corners
- Greenwich
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Greenwich is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwich
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,698 people
- North Greenwich
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- North Greenwich is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Greenwich
- South Argyle
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- South Argyle is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Argyle
- Archdale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Archdale is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Archdale
- Argyle
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Fly Summit
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Fly Summit is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fly Summit
- Battenville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Battenville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Battenville
- Center Cambridge
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Center Cambridge is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Cambridge
- Cossayuna
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Lake Desolation, see our County-by-County Page for Lake Desolation.
Cemeteries Near Lake Desolation ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lake Desolation.
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 Lake Desolation - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Lake Desolation covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Lake Desolation, with the one closest to Lake Desolation listed first.
- Hutchings Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Frink Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Middle Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Barkersville Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Welch Road Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Grenell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Howard Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ballou Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Day Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Allen Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Scott Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Allen Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (368 more) ...
- Community Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Foster Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rock City Falls Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
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.<2>
While we didn't find Lake Desolation in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Lake Desolation.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Lake Desolation, with the one closest to Lake Desolation listed first.
- Middle Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Barkersville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Barkersville is located in Saratoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barkersville
- East Galway
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- East Galway is located in Saratoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Galway
- Porter Corners
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Mosherville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Mosherville is located in Saratoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mosherville
- Rock City Falls
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- South Greenfield
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- South Greenfield is located in Saratoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Greenfield
- Greenfield
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Greenfield is located in Saratoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
- Kings
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Kings is located in Saratoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings
- North Greenfield
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- North Greenfield is located in Saratoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Greenfield
- West Milton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- West Milton is located in Saratoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Milton
- Greenfield Center
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Hagedorns Mills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hagedorns Mills is located in Saratoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagedorns Mills
- North Galway
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- North Galway is located in Saratoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Galway
- Milton Center
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Milton Center is located in Saratoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton Center
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Lake Desolation. See our List of 1890's Communities around Lake Desolation.
Newspapers Published in Lake Desolation ...
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 50 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lake Desolation.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lake Desolation, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Lake Desolation.
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 Lake Desolation:
- Websites specific to New York
- Pages specific to Saratoga County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Albany County
- Fulton County
- Hamilton County
- Montgomery County
- Rensselaer County
- Schenectady County
- Schoharie County
- Warren County
- Washington 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> | 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 Lake Desolation, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Lake Desolation) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |