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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 Otego (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 Otego. 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.

Otego is located in Otsego 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 Otsego County: Chenango, Delaware, Herkimer, Madison, Montgomery & Schoharie.

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

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

Cemeteries Near Otego ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Otego.

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

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

  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Presbyterian Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Presbyterian Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Presbyterian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bundy Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bundy Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bundy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Northup Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Northup Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Northup Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hopkin Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hopkin Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hopkin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Quackenbush Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Quackenbush Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Quackenbush Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Carr Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Carr Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Carr Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ouleout Valley Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ouleout Valley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ouleout Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Barnes Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Barnes Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Barnes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Flax Island Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Flax Island Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Flax Island Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Emmons Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Emmons Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Emmons Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Merithew Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Merithew Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Merithew Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (370 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Otego had a population of 763 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Otego had a population of 914 people.

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

  • Franklin
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Franklin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
    • Franklin is located in Delaware County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Franklin <1>
  • Wells Bridge
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • North Franklin
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • East Sidney
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Sidney have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sidney
    • East Sidney is located in Delaware County
  • West Oneonta
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Otsdawa
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Otsdawa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otsdawa
    • Otsdawa is located in Otsego County
  • Oneonta
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oneonta have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oneonta
    • Oneonta is located in Otsego County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,695 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oneonta <1>
  • Unadilla Center
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Unadilla Center have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unadilla Center
    • Unadilla Center is located in Otsego County
  • Maple Grove
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
    • Maple Grove is located in Otsego County
  • Unadilla
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Unadilla have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unadilla
    • Unadilla is located in Otsego County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,039 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Unadilla <1>
  • Sidney Center
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Franklin Depot
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Franklin Depot have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Depot
    • Franklin Depot is located in Delaware County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Merrickville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Merrickville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrickville
      • Merrickville is located in Delaware County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Merrickville
      • From Otego to Merrickville
    • West Meredith
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Meredith have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Meredith
      • West Meredith is located in Delaware County
    • Youngs
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Youngs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngs
      • Youngs is located in Delaware County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Otego ...

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 69 newspapers that have been published in the area around Otego.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Otego. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Otego and those printed in the larger area surrounding Otego.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<6> of Otego.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Otego:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Otego. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Otsego County: www.otsegocounty.com/

The official website for State of New York: https://www.ny.gov/

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 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.
<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 Otego, 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' (or 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- Otego) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Otego. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.3974, Longitude: -75.1734    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025