RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of New York >> Cattaraugus County >> Olean >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
New York

The Commemorative Quarter for New York





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 Olean (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 Olean. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.

Olean is located in Cattaraugus 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 Cattaraugus County: Allegany, Chautauqua, Erie, Wyoming, McKean (PA) & Warren (PA).

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

  • Cattaraugus County     (The home county of Olean)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
    • Saint Bonaventure
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Bonaventure have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Bonaventure
      • Saint Bonaventure is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Bonaventure <2>
    • Allegany
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Allegany have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allegany
      • Allegany is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,685 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Allegany <2>
    • Weston Mills
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Four Mile
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Four Mile. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Mile
      • Four Mile is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Four Mile
      • From Olean to Four Mile
    • Rock City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
      • Rock City is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Portville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Portville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portville
      • Portville is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 941 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Portville <2>
    • Chipmunk
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chipmunk. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chipmunk
      • Chipmunk is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Chipmunk
      • From Olean to Chipmunk
    • Humphrey
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Limestone
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Ischua
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Carrollton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Carrollton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrollton
      • Carrollton is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Carrollton
      • From Olean to Carrollton
    • New Ireland ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for New Ireland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Ireland
      • New Ireland is located in Cattaraugus County
      • New Ireland has also been known as:
      • Irish Town
      • Little Ireland
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to New Ireland
      • From Olean to New Ireland
  • Allegany County
  • McKean County (PA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
    • Eldred
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Duke Center
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Derrick City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Summit
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Tuna
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tuna. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuna
      • Tuna is located in McKean County (PA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tuna
      • From Olean to Tuna
    • Rixford
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Dallas City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dallas City. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas City
      • Dallas City is located in McKean County (PA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dallas City
      • From Olean to Dallas City
    • Foster Brook
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Foster Brook. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Brook
      • Foster Brook is located in McKean County (PA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Foster Brook
      • From Olean to Foster Brook
    • Myrtle
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Myrtle. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtle
      • Myrtle is located in McKean County (PA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Myrtle
      • From Olean to Myrtle
    • Sawyer City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sawyer City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawyer City
      • Sawyer City is located in McKean County (PA)
    • Bradford
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Rew
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Potter County (PA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olean, with the one closest to Olean listed first.
    • Shinglehouse
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Honeoye
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Honeoye. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honeoye
      • Honeoye is located in Potter County (PA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Honeoye
      • From Olean to Honeoye
    • East Sharon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for East Sharon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sharon
      • East Sharon is located in Potter County (PA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to East Sharon
      • From Olean to East Sharon
    • Millport
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Williston
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Williston. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williston
      • Williston is located in Potter County (PA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Williston
      • From Olean to Williston
    • Chrystal
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chrystal. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chrystal
      • Chrystal is located in Potter County (PA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Chrystal
      • From Olean to Chrystal
    • Coneville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Coneville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coneville
      • Coneville is located in Potter County (PA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Coneville
      • From Olean to Coneville
    • Oswayo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Hebron
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hebron. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
      • Hebron is located in Potter County (PA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hebron
      • From Olean to Hebron
    • Roulette
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Ellisburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Genesee
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Warren County (PA)

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

Cemeteries Near Olean ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Olean.

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 Olean covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Olean had a population of 7,358 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Olean had a population of 13,371 people.

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

  • Allegany
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Allegany have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allegany
    • Allegany is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,685 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Allegany <2>
  • Westons Mills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westons Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westons Mills
    • Westons Mills is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Westons Mills <2>
  • Four Mile
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Four Mile. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Mile
    • Four Mile is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Four Mile
    • From Olean to Four Mile
  • Haymaker
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Haymaker have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haymaker
    • Haymaker is located in McKean County (PA)
  • Portville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Portville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portville
    • Portville is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 941 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Portville <2>
  • Hinsdale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hinsdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinsdale
    • Hinsdale is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hinsdale <2>
  • Chipmunk
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chipmunk. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chipmunk
    • Chipmunk is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Chipmunk
    • From Olean to Chipmunk
  • Bullis Mills
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bullis Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullis Mills
    • Bullis Mills is located in McKean County (PA)
  • Haskell Flats
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Haskell Flats have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haskell Flats
    • Haskell Flats is located in Cattaraugus County
  • Vandalia
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vandalia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandalia
    • Vandalia is located in Cattaraugus County
  • South Vandalia
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Vandalia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Vandalia
    • South Vandalia is located in Cattaraugus County
  • Eldred
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Bells Camp
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bells Camp have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bells Camp
      • Bells Camp is located in McKean County (PA)
    • Red Rock
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Rock
      • Red Rock is located in McKean County (PA)
    • Duke Center
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Olean ...

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 130 newspapers that have been published in the area around Olean.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Olean. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Olean and those printed in the larger area surrounding Olean.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<6> of Olean.

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 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 Olean:

The official website for Olean: www.cityofolean.com/

The official website for Cattaraugus County: www.co.cattaraugus.ny.us/

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>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.
<5>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 Olean, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Olean) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Olean. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.0799, Longitude: -78.4375    









 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025