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 Orchard Park (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 Orchard Park. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Orchard Park is located in Erie 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 Erie County: Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Genesee, Niagara & Wyoming.
Below are the counties that are near Orchard Park. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Orchard Park:
- Erie County (The home county of Orchard Park)
- The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Park, with the one closest to Orchard Park listed first.
- Webster Corners
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Ellicott
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ellicott have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellicott
- Ellicott is located in Erie County
- Armor
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ebenezer
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ebenezer. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebenezer
- Ebenezer is located in Erie County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Ebenezer
- From Orchard Park to Ebenezer
- West Seneca
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Spring Brook
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Blasdell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Griffins Mills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jewettville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Scranton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Lackawanna
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Hamburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Bay View
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bay View. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay View
- Bay View is located in Erie County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Bay View
- From Orchard Park to Bay View
- Cattaraugus County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Park, with the one closest to Orchard Park listed first.
- Yorkshire
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Brooklyn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Delevan
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Delevan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delevan
- Delevan is located in Cattaraugus County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,039 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Delevan <3>
- Gowanda
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Perrysburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Perrysburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perrysburg
- Perrysburg is located in Cattaraugus County
- Estimated population in 2012: 394 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Perrysburg <3>
- Elton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elton
- Elton is located in Cattaraugus County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Elton
- From Orchard Park to Elton
- Machias
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Otto
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Persia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Persia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persia
- Persia is located in Cattaraugus County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Persia
- From Orchard Park to Persia
- Cottage
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cottage. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage
- Cottage is located in Cattaraugus County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Cottage
- From Orchard Park to Cottage
- Bird
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Cattaraugus
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cattaraugus have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cattaraugus
- Cattaraugus is located in Cattaraugus County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 900 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cattaraugus <3>
- Eddyville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Eddyville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eddyville
- Eddyville is located in Cattaraugus County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Eddyville
- From Orchard Park to Eddyville
- Chautauqua County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Park, with the one closest to Orchard Park listed first.
- Irving
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Silver Creek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Creek
- Silver Creek is located in Chautauqua County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,439 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Silver Creek <3>
- Parcells Corners
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wango
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wango. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wango
- Wango is located in Chautauqua County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Wango
- From Orchard Park to Wango
- Forestville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Genesee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Park, with the one closest to Orchard Park listed first.
- Amherst
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Corfu
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Griswold
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Griswold. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griswold
- Griswold is located in Genesee County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Griswold
- From Orchard Park to Griswold
- Sawens
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sawens. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawens
- Sawens is located in Genesee County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Sawens
- From Orchard Park to Sawens
- Indian Falls
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Alexander
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Basom
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- North Pembroke
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Brookville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Alabama
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- West Bethany
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Bushville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ridgewood Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ridgewood Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgewood Village
- Ridgewood Village is located in Genesee County
- Niagara County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Park, with the one closest to Orchard Park listed first.
- Park Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Village
- Park Village is located in Niagara County
- North Tonawanda
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Martinsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Wurlitzer Park Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wurlitzer Park Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wurlitzer Park Village
- Wurlitzer Park Village is located in Niagara County
- Hoffman
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Pendleton Center
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Rapids
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rapids have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapids
- Rapids is located in Niagara County
- Raymond
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Saint Johnsburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Bergholtz
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Black Creek Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Black Creek Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Creek Village
- Black Creek Village is located in Niagara County
- Dysinger
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dysinger. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dysinger
- Dysinger is located in Niagara County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Dysinger
- From Orchard Park to Dysinger
- Lockport Junction
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Wyoming County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Park, with the one closest to Orchard Park listed first.
- Folsomdale
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Harris Corners
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Java Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Curriers
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Java Center
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- North Java
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Varysburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Johnsonburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Arcade
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Attica
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Smiths Corner
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Bliss
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Dale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Orchard Park, see our County-by-County Page for Orchard Park.
Cemeteries Near Orchard Park ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Orchard Park.
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 Orchard Park covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Orchard Park, with the one closest to Orchard Park listed first.
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Sheldon Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sheldon Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sheldon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Hillcrest Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Griffins Mills Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Angle Road Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Angle Road Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Angle Road Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Union Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Union Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Holy Cross Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Cross Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holy Cross Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- St. Johns Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Holy Cross Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Howard Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Hope Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Hope Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Hope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Prospect Lawn Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (327 more) ...
- Lakeside Memorial Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lakeside Memorial Park
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lakeside Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- St. Matthews Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Mols Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mols Hill Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mols Hill 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.<5>
While we didn't find Orchard Park in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Orchard Park.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Orchard Park, with the one closest to Orchard Park listed first.
- Webster Corners
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Ellicott
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ellicott have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellicott
- Ellicott is located in Erie County
- Windom
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Windom have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
- Windom is located in Erie County
- Armor
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Big Tree
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Big Tree have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Tree
- Big Tree is located in Erie County
- Jewettville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Griffins Mills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Spring Brook
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- East Seneca
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Seneca have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Seneca
- East Seneca is located in Erie County
- Blasdell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Ebenezer
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ebenezer. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebenezer
- Ebenezer is located in Erie County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Ebenezer
- From Orchard Park to Ebenezer
- West Seneca
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Hamburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- North Boston
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- West Falls
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Orchard Park. See our List of 1890's Communities around Orchard Park.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Orchard Park ...
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 295 newspapers that have been published in the area around Orchard Park.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Orchard Park. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Orchard Park and those printed in the larger area surrounding Orchard Park.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<6> of Orchard Park.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Orchard Park:
- Websites specific to New York
- Pages specific to Erie County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cattaraugus County
- Chautauqua County
- Genesee County
- Niagara County
- Wyoming County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for New York
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> | 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. |
<3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
<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 Orchard Park, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
<6> | 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- Orchard Park) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Orchard Park. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.7675, Longitude: -78.7439 |