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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 Otto (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 Otto. 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.

Otto is located in Cattaraugus 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 Cattaraugus County: Allegany, Chautauqua, Erie, Wyoming, McKean (PA) & Warren (PA).

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

  • Cattaraugus County     (The home county of Otto)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otto, with the one closest to Otto listed first.
    • Cattaraugus
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • 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 <2>
    • Eddyville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • 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.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eddyville
      • Eddyville is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Eddyville
      • From Otto to Eddyville
    • Persia
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • 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.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persia
      • Persia is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Persia
      • From Otto to Persia
    • Brooklyn
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Little Valley
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Gowanda
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Ellicottville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Axeville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Elkdale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Cottage
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • 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.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage
      • Cottage is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cottage
      • From Otto to Cottage
    • Perrysburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • 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 <2>
    • Little Rock City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Rock City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Rock City
      • Little Rock City is located in Cattaraugus County
  • Allegany County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otto, with the one closest to Otto listed first.
    • Fairview
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fairview. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
      • Fairview is located in Allegany County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fairview
      • From Otto to Fairview
    • Cuba
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cuba have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
      • Cuba is located in Allegany County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,460 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cuba <2>
    • Rushford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Lyons Corners
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Chautauqua County
  • Erie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otto, with the one closest to Otto listed first.
    • Morton Corners
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Concord
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Springville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
      • Springville is located in Erie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,273 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Springville <2>
    • Wyandale
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Shirley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Shirley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shirley
      • Shirley is located in Erie County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Shirley
      • From Otto to Shirley
    • North Collins
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Collins have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Collins
      • North Collins is located in Erie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,194 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for North Collins <2>
    • Footes
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Brant
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Boston
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Pontiac
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Eden
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Farnham
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farnham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farnham
      • Farnham is located in Erie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 372 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Farnham <2>
  • Wyoming County
  • McKean County (PA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Otto, with the one closest to Otto listed first.
    • Tuna
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tuna. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuna
      • Tuna is located in McKean County (PA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tuna
      • From Otto to Tuna
    • Foster Brook
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Foster Brook. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Brook
      • Foster Brook is located in McKean County (PA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Foster Brook
      • From Otto to Foster Brook
    • Bradford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Derrick City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Sawyer City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sawyer City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawyer City
      • Sawyer City is located in McKean County (PA)

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

Cemeteries Near Otto ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Otto.

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

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

  • Otto Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Otto Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Otto Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lutheran Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lutheran Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • West Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Liberty Park Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Liberty Park Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Liberty Park Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Willson Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Wilson Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wilson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wilson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Barber Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Barber Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Barber Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rumsey Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rumsey Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rumsey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Eddyville Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eddyville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eddyville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Snyder Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • North Otto Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Otto Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Otto Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • East Otto Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East Otto Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the East Otto Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (235 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 Otto had a population of 671 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Cattaraugus
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • 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 <2>
  • Eddyville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • 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.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eddyville
    • Eddyville is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Eddyville
    • From Otto to Eddyville
  • East Otto
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Otto have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Otto
    • East Otto is located in Cattaraugus County
  • New Albion
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Albion have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Albion
    • New Albion is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Albion <2>
  • Persia
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • 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.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persia
    • Persia is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Persia
    • From Otto to Persia
  • Wesley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wesley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley
    • Wesley is located in Cattaraugus County
  • East Leon
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Leon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Leon
    • East Leon is located in Cattaraugus County
  • Little Valley
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Dayton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dayton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
    • Dayton is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dayton <2>
  • Ellicottville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Gowanda
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Collins Center
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Collins Center have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins Center
    • Collins Center is located in Erie County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Collins Center <2>
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Markhams
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Markhams have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markhams
      • Markhams is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Leon
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leon
      • Leon is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leon <2>
    • Elkdale
      (10 miles [16.1 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 Otto. See our List of 1890's Communities around Otto.

Newspapers Published in Otto ...

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 151 newspapers that have been published in the area around Otto.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Otto, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Otto.

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 Otto:

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

The official website for Cattaraugus County: www.co.cattaraugus.ny.us/

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

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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Otto, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Otto) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Otto. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.3559, Longitude: -78.8318    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025