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 North Wilna (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 North Wilna. 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 North Wilna ...
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 North Wilna: N. Wilna
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 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.
North Wilna is located in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County: Lewis, Oswego & Saint Lawrence.
Below are the counties that are near North Wilna. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to North Wilna:
- Jefferson County (The home county of North Wilna)
- The following are listed by their distance from North Wilna, with the one closest to North Wilna listed first.
- Sterlingville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Sterlingville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterlingville
- Natural Bridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Deferiet
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Herrings
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Herrings is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrings
- Estimated population in 2017: 90 people
- Philadelphia
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Antwerp
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Carthage
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Great Bend
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- West Carthage
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- West Carthage is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Carthage
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,901 people
- Evans Mills
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Black River
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Theresa
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Theresa is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Theresa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 766 people
- Lewis County
- The following are listed by their distance from North Wilna, with the one closest to North Wilna listed first.
- Lake Bonaparte
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Lake Bonaparte is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Bonaparte
- Forest City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Forest City is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
- Denmark
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Denmark is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Harrisville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Jerden Falls
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Jerden Falls is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerden Falls
- Copenhagen
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Naumburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Naumburg is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naumburg
- Indian River
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Indian River is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian River
- Briggs Corner
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Briggs Corner is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briggs Corner
- Castorland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Belfort
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Belfort is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belfort
- Croghan
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from North Wilna, with the one closest to North Wilna listed first.
- Somerville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Somerville is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerville
- Wegatchie
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Wegatchie is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wegatchie
- Gouverneur
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Elmdale
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Elmdale is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmdale
- Jayville ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Jayville is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jayville
- Talcville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Talcville is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talcville
- South Edwards
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- South Edwards is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Edwards
- Edwards
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Edwards is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards
- Estimated population in 2012: 433 people
- Schermerhorn Landing
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Schermerhorn Landing is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schermerhorn Landing
- Hammond
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Richville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Coffins Mills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Coffins Mills is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffins Mills
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to North Wilna, see our County-by-County Page for North Wilna.
Cemeteries Near North Wilna ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of North Wilna.
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 North Wilna - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for North Wilna covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from North Wilna, with the one closest to North Wilna listed first.
- Natural Bridge Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hillside Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Hillside Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Quaker Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- F W Woolworth Memorial Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hillside Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Blanchard Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Sandy Hollow Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sheepfold Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Fairview Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- St. James Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Cotes Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (142 more) ...
- Hillside Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Sunnyside Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Kelsey Bridge Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 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 North Wilna had a population of 111 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from North Wilna, with the one closest to North Wilna listed first.
- Sterlingville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Sterlingville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterlingville
- Natural Bridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Philadelphia
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Great Bend
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Carthage
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Antwerp
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Felts Mills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Champion
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Champion is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Champion
- Evans Mills
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Black River
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Deer River
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Lake Bonaparte
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Lake Bonaparte is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Bonaparte
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Spragueville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Spragueville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spragueville
- Theresa
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Theresa is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Theresa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 766 people
- Denmark
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Denmark is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around North Wilna. See our List of 1890's Communities around North Wilna.
Newspapers Published in North Wilna ...
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 115 newspapers that have been published in the area around North Wilna.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of North Wilna, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for North Wilna.
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 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 North Wilna:
- Websites specific to New York
- Pages specific to Jefferson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Lewis County
- Saint Lawrence 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 North Wilna, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- North Wilna) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |