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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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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 Otter Lake (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 Otter Lake. 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.

Name Variations for Otter Lake ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Otter Lake: Otter Lk.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Otter Lake. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Otter Lake.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 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 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.

Otter Lake is located in Oneida 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 Oneida County: Herkimer, Lewis, Madison, Oswego & Otsego.

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

  • Oneida County     (The home county of Otter Lake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otter Lake, with the one closest to Otter Lake listed first.
    • Woodgate
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Boonville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Redmond Corner
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Redmond Corner is located in Oneida County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redmond Corner
    • Remsen
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Prospect
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Ava
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Barneveld
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Trenton Falls
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Trenton Falls is located in Oneida County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trenton Falls
    • Frenchville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Frenchville is located in Oneida County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchville
    • East Floyd
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • East Floyd is located in Oneida County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Floyd
    • Trenton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Trenton is located in Oneida County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trenton
    • Westernville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
  • Hamilton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otter Lake, with the one closest to Otter Lake listed first.
    • Inlet
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Morehouseville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Morehouseville is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morehouseville
    • Raquette Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Herkimer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otter Lake, with the one closest to Otter Lake listed first.
    • Thendara
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Thendara is located in Herkimer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thendara
    • Northwood
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Northwood is located in Herkimer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwood
    • Grant
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Grant is located in Herkimer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant
    • Beaver River
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Gray
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Gray is located in Herkimer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gray
    • Russia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Russia is located in Herkimer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russia
    • Cold Brook
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Poland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Norway
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Norway is located in Herkimer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norway
    • Newport
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Old City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Old City is located in Herkimer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old City
  • Lewis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otter Lake, with the one closest to Otter Lake listed first.
    • Lyonsdale
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Lyonsdale is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyonsdale
    • Port Leyden
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Lyons Falls
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Greig
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Collinsville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Collinsville is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collinsville
    • Constableville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Turin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Glendale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Mohawk Hill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Mohawk Hill is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mohawk Hill
    • Number Four
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Number Four is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Number Four
    • Crystal Dale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Crystal Dale is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Dale
    • East Martinsburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • East Martinsburg is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Martinsburg

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

Cemeteries Near Otter Lake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Otter Lake.

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 Otter Lake - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Woodgate Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Riverview Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Brantingham Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Hayes Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Beechwood Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Wildwood Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Boonville Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Alder Creek Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Sands Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Leyden Hill Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (95 more) ...
    • Egypt Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Bethel Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Wheelertown Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)

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 Otter Lake in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Otter Lake.

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

  • Minnehaha
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Minnehaha is located in Herkimer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnehaha
  • Lyonsdale
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Lyonsdale is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyonsdale
  • Hawkinsville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Hawkinsville is located in Oneida County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkinsville
  • Old Forge
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Forestport
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Brantingham
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Port Leyden
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Alder Creek
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Lyons Falls
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Boonville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Greig
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Collinsville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Collinsville is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collinsville
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Locust Grove
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Locust Grove is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Grove
    • East Steuben
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • East Steuben is located in Oneida County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Steuben
    • Turin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in Otter Lake ...

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 56 newspapers that have been published in the area around Otter Lake.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Otter Lake, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Otter Lake.

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 Otter Lake:

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 Otter Lake, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Otter Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.