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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 Messengerville (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 Messengerville. 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 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.

Messengerville is located in Cortland County.

To see how the shape of New York's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Cortland County: Broome, Cayuga, Chenango, Madison, Onondaga, Tioga & Tompkins.

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

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

Cemeteries Near Messengerville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Messengerville.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Snyder Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Snyder Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Snyder Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Parker Street Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Parker Street Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Parker Street Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Quail Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Quail Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Quail Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Marathon Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Marathon Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Marathon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Freetown Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Freetown Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Freetown Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hunts Corners Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hunts Corners Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hunts Corners Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bemis Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bemis Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bemis Cemetery came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<4>
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2351795 <5>
  • Texas Valley Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Texas Valley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Texas Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Turner Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Turner Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Turner Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Killawog Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Killawog Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Killawog Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2185783 <5>
  • Blodgett Mills Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Blodgett Mills Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Blodgett Mills Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Forest Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Forest Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Forest Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (457 more) ...
    • Loope Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Loope Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Loope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Atwood Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Atwood Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Atwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Virgil Rural Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Virgil Rural Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Virgil Rural Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Messengerville had a population of 123 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • East Virgil
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Virgil have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Virgil
    • East Virgil is located in Cortland County
  • Marathon
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marathon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marathon
    • Marathon is located in Cortland County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 853 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marathon <2>
  • Freetown Corners
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freetown Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freetown Corners
    • Freetown Corners is located in Cortland County
  • Hunts Corners
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hunts Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunts Corners
    • Hunts Corners is located in Cortland County
  • Texas Valley
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Texas Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Texas Valley
    • Texas Valley is located in Cortland County
  • Killawog
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Blodgett Mills
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blodgett Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blodgett Mills
    • Blodgett Mills is located in Cortland County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blodgett Mills <2>
  • East Freetown
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Freetown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Freetown
    • East Freetown is located in Cortland County
  • Virgil
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Virgil have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virgil
    • Virgil is located in Cortland County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Virgil <2>
  • Harford
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Harford Mills
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Upper Lisle
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Willet
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willet have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willet
      • Willet is located in Cortland County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Willet <2>
    • Solon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Solon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solon
      • Solon is located in Cortland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Solon
      • From Messengerville to Solon
    • Center Lisle
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Center Lisle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Lisle
      • Center Lisle is located in Broome County

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

Newspapers Published in Messengerville ...

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 95 newspapers that have been published in the area around Messengerville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Messengerville, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<7>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Messengerville.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Messengerville:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Messengerville. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Cortland County: www.cortland-co.org/

The official website for State of New York: https://www.ny.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>If we found a location and have questions about the accuracy of our information, we will simply say that the marker is 'in the vicinity'. We are not confident about the location and the position of our marker is only a rough guide. If we have too many doubts about the location, we will not include it in our database.
<5>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.
<6>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 Messengerville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<7>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 from Point A (ie- Messengerville) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Messengerville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.4892, Longitude: -76.0746       In this case, the coordinates for Messengerville have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025