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The Commemorative Quarter for New York





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 Phelps (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 Phelps. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Phelps is located in Ontario 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 Ontario County: Livingston, Monroe, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne & Yates.

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

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

Cemeteries Near Phelps ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Phelps.

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

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

  • St. Francis Catholic Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Francis Catholic Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Francis Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Resthaven Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Resthaven Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Resthaven Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pinewood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pinewood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pinewood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Melvin Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Melvin Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Melvin Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Joslyn Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Joslyn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Joslyn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Armstrong Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Armstrong Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Armstrong Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Burnett Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Burnett Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Burnett Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Westfall Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Westfall Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Westfall Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Five Waters Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Five Waters Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Five Waters Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wheat Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wheat Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wheat Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oak Lawn Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Lawn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Lawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (456 more) ...
    • Humphrey Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Humphrey Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Humphrey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Vandemark Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vandemark Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vandemark Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Purchase Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Purchase Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Purchase 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 Phelps had a population of 1,336 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Phelps had a population of 1,901 people.

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

  • Phelps Junction
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Phelps Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phelps Junction
    • Phelps Junction is located in Ontario County
  • Orleans
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orleans have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
    • Orleans is located in Ontario County
  • Clifton Springs
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clifton Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton Springs
    • Clifton Springs is located in Ontario County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,012 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clifton Springs <3>
  • West Junius
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for West Junius. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Junius
    • West Junius is located in Ontario County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to West Junius
    • From Phelps to West Junius
  • Seneca Castle
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Newark
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Manchester Center
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manchester Center have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester Center
    • Manchester Center is located in Ontario County
  • Hopewell Center
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Flint
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Flint. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint
    • Flint is located in Ontario County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Flint
    • From Phelps to Flint
  • Geneva
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Port Gibson
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Ennerdale
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ennerdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ennerdale
    • Ennerdale is located in Ontario County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Marengo
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marengo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marengo
      • Marengo is located in Wayne County
    • Lyons
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Manchester
      (8 miles [12.9 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 Phelps. See our List of 1890's Communities around Phelps.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Phelps ...

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 66 newspapers that have been published in the area around Phelps.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Phelps. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Phelps and those printed in the larger area surrounding Phelps.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 18 miles [29 km]<5> of Phelps.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Phelps:

The official website for Phelps: www.phelpsny.com/village/

The official website for Ontario County: www.co.ontario.ny.us/

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 Phelps, 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' (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- Phelps) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Phelps. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.9578, Longitude: -77.0580    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025