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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 Mina (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 Mina. 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 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.

Mina 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 Mina. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Mina:

  • Chautauqua County     (The home county of Mina)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mina, with the one closest to Mina listed first.
    • Findley Lake
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Slab City
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Slab City is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slab City
    • French Creek
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • French Creek is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Creek
    • Sherman
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • North Clymer
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • North Clymer is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Clymer
    • Stebbins Corners
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Stebbins Corners is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stebbins Corners
    • Ripley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Panama
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Stedman
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Stedman is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stedman
    • Forsyth
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Forsyth is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forsyth
    • Mayville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Maple Springs
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Hartfield
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Hartfield is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartfield
  • Crawford County (PA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mina, with the one closest to Mina listed first.
    • Spartansburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Canadohta Lake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Canadohta Lake is located in Crawford County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canadohta Lake
    • Lincolnville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Lincolnville is located in Crawford County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincolnville
    • Riceville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Riceville is located in Crawford County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riceville
    • Rootville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Rootville is located in Crawford County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rootville
    • Brown Hill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Brown Hill is located in Crawford County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brown Hill
    • Centerville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Vrooman
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Vrooman is located in Crawford County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vrooman
    • Tryonville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Tryonville is located in Crawford County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tryonville
    • Cambridge Springs
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Erie County (PA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mina, with the one closest to Mina listed first.
    • North East
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Hornby
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Hornby is located in Erie County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornby
    • Freeport
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Freeport is located in Erie County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport
    • Wattsburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Phillipsville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Phillipsville is located in Erie County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillipsville
    • Arbuckle
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Arbuckle is located in Erie County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbuckle
    • Beaver Dam
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Beaver Dam is located in Erie County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Dam
    • Corry
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Corry is located in Erie County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corry
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,180 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Corry <1>
    • Elgin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Elgin is located in Erie County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 204 people
    • Wesleyville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Lawrence Park
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Lawrence Park is located in Erie County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence Park
    • Union City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Waterford Station
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Waterford Station is located in Erie County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterford Station
  • Warren County (PA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mina, with the one closest to Mina listed first.
    • Bear Lake
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Columbus
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Colza
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Colza is located in Warren County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colza
    • Lottsville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Lottsville is located in Warren County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lottsville
    • West Spring Creek
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • West Spring Creek is located in Warren County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Spring Creek
    • Sugar Grove
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • East Branch
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • East Branch is located in Warren County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Branch
    • Garland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Garland is located in Warren County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland
    • Pittsfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Sanford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Sanford is located in Warren County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanford
    • Youngsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Putnamville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Putnamville is located in Warren County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putnamville
    • Irvine
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Mina ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mina.

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

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

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

  • Mina Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Findley Lake Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Marks Corners Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Pleasant Valley Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Pleasant Valley Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the southwest of Sherman.
    • The Pleasant Valley Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Sherman Pleasant Valley Cemetery
    • Slab City Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1118552 <3>
  • West Mina Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • South Ripley Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • St. Matthias Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • French Creek Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Sherman Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Taft Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Clymer Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Wait's Corners Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (154 more) ...

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Mina had a population of 172 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Findley Lake
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • French Creek
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • French Creek is located in Chautauqua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Creek
  • South Ripley
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • South Ripley is located in Chautauqua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Ripley
  • Sherman
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Marvin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Marvin is located in Chautauqua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marvin
  • Cutting
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Cutting is located in Chautauqua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cutting
  • North Clymer
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • North Clymer is located in Chautauqua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Clymer
  • Clymer
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • State Line
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • State Line is located in Chautauqua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line
  • Summerdale
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Summerdale is located in Chautauqua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerdale
  • Lombard
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Lombard is located in Chautauqua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lombard
  • North East
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Ripley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Hornby
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Hornby is located in Erie County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornby
    • Wattsburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Mina ...

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 114 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mina.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Mina, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Mina.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Mina:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Mina) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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>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 Mina, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.