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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 Otisco (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 Otisco. 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 and doctors 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.

Otisco is located in Onondaga 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 Onondaga County: Cayuga, Cortland, Madison & Oswego.

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

  • Onondaga County     (The home county of Otisco)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otisco, with the one closest to Otisco listed first.
    • Otisco Valley
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Cardiff
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Spafford
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Spafford. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spafford
      • Spafford is located in Onondaga County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Spafford
      • From Otisco to Spafford
    • Indian Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
      • Indian Village is located in Onondaga County
    • LaFayette
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Tully
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tully have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tully
      • Tully is located in Onondaga County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 849 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tully <3>
    • Thorn Hill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Thorn Hill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorn Hill
      • Thorn Hill is located in Onondaga County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Thorn Hill
      • From Otisco to Thorn Hill
    • Rose Hill
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rose Hill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill
      • Rose Hill is located in Onondaga County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rose Hill
      • From Otisco to Rose Hill
    • Assembly Park
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Apulia
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Apulia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apulia
      • Apulia is located in Onondaga County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Apulia
      • From Otisco to Apulia
    • Berwyn
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Nedrow
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nedrow have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nedrow
      • Nedrow is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nedrow <3>
    • Sentinel Heights
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Cayuga County
  • Chenango County
  • Cortland County
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otisco, with the one closest to Otisco listed first.
    • Union
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
      • Union is located in Madison County
    • DeRuyter
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • New Woodstock
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Puckerville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Rippleton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Cazenovia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cazenovia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cazenovia
      • Cazenovia is located in Madison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,843 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cazenovia <3>
    • Bingley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Chittenango Falls
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Chittenango
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chittenango have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chittenango
      • Chittenango is located in Madison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,823 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chittenango <3>
    • Sulphur Springs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Bolivar
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bolivar have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolivar
      • Bolivar is located in Madison County
    • Bridgeport
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bridgeport have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
      • Bridgeport is located in Madison County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bridgeport <3>
    • Sullivan
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Oswego County
  • Seneca County
  • Tompkins County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otisco, with the one closest to Otisco listed first.
    • Groton City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Groton City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groton City
      • Groton City is located in Tompkins County
    • Groton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • McLean
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • West Groton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Peruville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Peruville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peruville
      • Peruville is located in Tompkins County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Peruville
      • From Otisco to Peruville
    • North Lansing
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • East Lansing
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Freeville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freeville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeville
      • Freeville is located in Tompkins County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 478 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeville <3>
    • Dryden
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dryden have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dryden
      • Dryden is located in Tompkins County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,996 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dryden <3>
    • Lake Ridge
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lake Ridge. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ridge
      • Lake Ridge is located in Tompkins County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lake Ridge
      • From Otisco to Lake Ridge
    • Myers
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Myers. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myers
      • Myers is located in Tompkins County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Myers
      • From Otisco to Myers
    • Lansing
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lansing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lansing
      • Lansing is located in Tompkins County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,866 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lansing <3>
    • Willow Creek
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Otisco ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Otisco.

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

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

  • Hillsdale Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hillsdale Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hillsdale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Patricks Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Patricks Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Patricks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • The West Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The West Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for The West Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Maple Grove Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maple Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maple Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Stanton Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stanton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stanton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Otisco Valley Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Otisco Valley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Otisco Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Vesper Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vesper Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vesper Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lewis Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lewis Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lewis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Spafford Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Spafford Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Spafford Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pine Ridge Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pine Ridge Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pine Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Christian Hollow Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Christian Hollow Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Christian Hollow Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cardiff Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cardiff Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cardiff Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (471 more) ...
    • Amber Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Amber Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Amber Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Cold Brook Valley Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cold Brook Valley Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cold Brook Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Bromley Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bromley Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bromley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Otisco had a population of 164 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Otisco Valley
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Spafford
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Spafford. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spafford
    • Spafford is located in Onondaga County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Spafford
    • From Otisco to Spafford
  • Cardiff
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • South Onondaga
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Onondaga have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Onondaga
    • South Onondaga is located in Onondaga County
  • Amber
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Amber have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amber
    • Amber is located in Onondaga County
  • South Spafford
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Spafford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Spafford
    • South Spafford is located in Onondaga County
  • Navarino
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Navarino have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navarino
    • Navarino is located in Onondaga County
  • Tully Lake Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tully Lake Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tully Lake Park
    • Tully Lake Park is located in Onondaga County
  • Tully
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tully have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tully
    • Tully is located in Onondaga County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 849 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tully <3>
  • Collingwood
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Collingwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collingwood
    • Collingwood is located in Onondaga County
  • LaFayette
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Marietta
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marietta have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marietta
    • Marietta is located in Onondaga County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marietta <3>
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Thorn Hill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Thorn Hill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorn Hill
      • Thorn Hill is located in Onondaga County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Thorn Hill
      • From Otisco to Thorn Hill
    • Borodino
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Borodino have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borodino
      • Borodino is located in Onondaga County
    • New Hope
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Otisco ...

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 193 newspapers that have been published in the area around Otisco.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Otisco, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Otisco.

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 websites either 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 Otisco:

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

The official website for Onondaga County: www.ongov.net/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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 Otisco, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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 from Point A (ie- Otisco) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Otisco. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.8599, Longitude: -76.2177    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025