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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 Otsdawa (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 Otsdawa. 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 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 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.

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

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

  • Otsego County     (The home county of Otsdawa)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otsdawa, with the one closest to Otsdawa listed first.
    • West Oneonta
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • West Oneonta is located in Otsego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Oneonta
    • West End
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • West End is located in Otsego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West End
    • Laurens
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Morris
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Oneonta
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Otego
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Youmans Corner
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Youmans Corner is located in Otsego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youmans Corner
    • Gilbertsville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Mount Vision
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Wells Bridge
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Colliersville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Welcome
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Welcome is located in Otsego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welcome
    • Copes Corner
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Copes Corner is located in Otsego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copes Corner
  • Broome County
  • Chenango County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otsdawa, with the one closest to Otsdawa listed first.
    • Lathams Corners
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Lathams Corners is located in Chenango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lathams Corners
    • Mount Upton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • New Berlin
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • East Guilford
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • East Guilford is located in Chenango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Guilford
    • Guilford
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Columbus
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Columbus is located in Chenango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus
    • Button City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Button City is located in Chenango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Button City
    • Yaleville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Yaleville is located in Chenango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yaleville
    • Haynes
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Haynes is located in Chenango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes
    • Norwich
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • North Norwich
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • North Norwich is located in Chenango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Norwich
    • Bainbridge
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Oxford
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
  • Delaware County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otsdawa, with the one closest to Otsdawa listed first.
    • North Franklin
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • North Franklin is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Franklin
    • Franklin
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Davenport Center
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Merrickville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Merrickville is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrickville
    • Sidney Center
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Shackport
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Shackport is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shackport
    • Sidney
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Mundale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Mundale is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mundale
    • Tacoma
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Tacoma is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tacoma
    • Delhi
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Delhi is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,871 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Delhi <1>
    • Masonville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Simpsonville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Simpsonville is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpsonville
    • Bloomville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Herkimer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otsdawa, with the one closest to Otsdawa listed first.
    • West Winfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Chepachet
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Chepachet is located in Herkimer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chepachet
    • Cullen
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Cullen is located in Herkimer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cullen
    • South Columbia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • South Columbia is located in Herkimer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Columbia
    • Cedarville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Cedarville is located in Herkimer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
    • Millers Mills
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Millers Mills is located in Herkimer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millers Mills
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otsdawa, with the one closest to Otsdawa listed first.
    • Brookfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • South Hamilton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • South Hamilton is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hamilton
    • Earlville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • East Hamilton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • East Hamilton is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Hamilton
    • Hamilton Center
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Hamilton Center is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton Center
    • Randallsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Randallsville is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randallsville
    • Hamilton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Oneida County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otsdawa, with the one closest to Otsdawa listed first.
    • Bridgewater
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Stockwell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Stockwell is located in Oneida County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockwell
    • North Bridgewater
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • North Bridgewater is located in Oneida County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bridgewater
  • Schoharie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otsdawa, with the one closest to Otsdawa listed first.
    • Jefferson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • South Jefferson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • South Jefferson is located in Schoharie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Jefferson
    • Summit
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Summit is located in Schoharie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,081 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Summit <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Otsdawa ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Otsdawa.

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

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

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

  • Otsdawa Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Pope Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Hathaway Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Burdick Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Cook Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Cook Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Flax Island Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Hopkin Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Bennett Weatherly Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Carr Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Strait Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Butts Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (385 more) ...
    • Emmons Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Plains Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Elm Row Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Otsdawa had a population of 40 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • West Oneonta
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • West Oneonta is located in Otsego County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Oneonta
  • West Laurens
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • West Laurens is located in Otsego County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Laurens
  • Maple Grove
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Maple Grove is located in Otsego County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
  • Laurens
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Morris
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Otego
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Oneonta
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • North Franklin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • North Franklin is located in Delaware County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Franklin
  • New Lisbon
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • New Lisbon is located in Otsego County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lisbon
  • Gilbertsville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Unadilla Center
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Unadilla Center is located in Otsego County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unadilla Center
  • Wells Bridge
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Mount Vision
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Franklin
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Colliersville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in Otsdawa ...

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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Otsdawa.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Otsdawa, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Otsdawa.

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 Otsdawa:

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 Otsdawa, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Otsdawa) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.