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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 Onchiota (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 Onchiota. 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 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 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.

Onchiota is located in Franklin 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 Franklin County: Clinton, Essex, Hamilton & Saint Lawrence.

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

  • Franklin County     (The home county of Onchiota)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Onchiota, with the one closest to Onchiota listed first.
    • Merrillsville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Merrillsville is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrillsville
    • Harrietstown
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Harrietstown is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrietstown
    • Paul Smiths
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Alder Brook
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Alder Brook is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alder Brook
    • Franklin Falls
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Franklin Falls is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Falls
    • Saranac Inn
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Saranac Inn is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saranac Inn
    • Whippleville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Skerry
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Skerry is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skerry
    • Saint Regis Falls
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Brainardsville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Bangor
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Altamont
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Altamont is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
  • Clinton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Onchiota, with the one closest to Onchiota listed first.
    • Clayburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Clayburg is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayburg
    • Standish
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Standish is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standish
    • Redford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Black Brook
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Black Brook is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Brook
    • Lyon Mountain
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Moffitsville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Moffitsville is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffitsville
    • Au Sable Forks
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Thomasville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Thomasville is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomasville
    • Dannemora
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Harrigan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Harrigan is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrigan
    • Cadyville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Ellenburg Center
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Essex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Onchiota, with the one closest to Onchiota listed first.
    • Bloomingdale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Saranac Lake
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Ray Brook
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Whiteface
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Whiteface is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteface
    • Lake Placid
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Wilmington
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • North Elba
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • North Elba is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Elba
    • Upper Jay
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jay
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • North Jay
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • North Jay is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Jay
    • Saint Huberts
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Saint Huberts is located in Essex County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Huberts
    • Tahawus
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Saint Lawrence County

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

Cemeteries Near Onchiota ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Onchiota.

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

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

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

  • Union Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Brighton Memorial Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Merrillsville Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Brookside Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • St. Rose Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Goodspeed Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Franklin Falls Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Union Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (92 more) ...
    • St. Bernards Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Pine Ridge Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Hoose Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 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>

While we didn't find Onchiota in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Onchiota.

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

  • Vermontville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Loon Lake
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Loon Lake is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loon Lake
  • Harrietstown
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Harrietstown is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrietstown
  • Bloomingdale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Paul Smiths
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Franklin Falls
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Franklin Falls is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Falls
  • Alder Brook
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Alder Brook is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alder Brook
  • Goldsmith
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Goldsmith is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldsmith
  • Union Falls
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Union Falls is located in Clinton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Falls
  • Saranac Lake
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Wolf Pond
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Wolf Pond is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Pond
  • Ray Brook
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Saranac Inn
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Saranac Inn is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saranac Inn
    • Clayburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Clayburg is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayburg
    • Standish
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Standish is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standish

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

Newspapers Published in Onchiota ...

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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Onchiota.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Onchiota, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Onchiota.

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 Onchiota:

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 Onchiota, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Onchiota) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.