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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 Port Byron (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 Port Byron. 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 Port Byron ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

Prior to its current name of Port Byron, it was known as Bucksville.

  • A typical abbreviation for Port Byron: Prt. Byron

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.

A Few Details for Port Byron ...

While it's still very early in our research, we found that:

  • Port Byron was established in 1797.

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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Port Byron is located in Cayuga 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 Cayuga County: Cortland, Onondaga, Oswego, Seneca, Tompkins & Wayne.

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

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

Cemeteries Near Port Byron ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Port Byron.

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

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

  • Wethy Family Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wethy Family Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wethy Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Old Port Byron Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Port Byron Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Port Byron Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Dixon - Wilson Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dixon - Wilson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dixon - Wilson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • McCloud Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McCloud Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McCloud Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Stevens Family Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stevens Family Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stevens Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Salt Road Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Salt Road Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Salt Road Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mentz Church Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mentz Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mentz Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Community Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Lamphere Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lamphere Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lamphere Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • God's Acre Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the God's Acre Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the God's Acre Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (480 more) ...
    • Old Montezuma Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Montezuma Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Montezuma Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Montezuma Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Montezuma Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Montezuma Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Fairchild Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairchild Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairchild Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Port Byron had a population of 1,105 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Port Byron had a population of 1,181 people.

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

  • Weedsport
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weedsport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weedsport
    • Weedsport is located in Cayuga County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,683 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Weedsport <2>
  • Fox Ridge
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fox Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Ridge
    • Fox Ridge is located in Cayuga County
  • Montezuma
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Montezuma have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montezuma
    • Montezuma is located in Cayuga County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Montezuma <2>
  • Throopsville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Throopsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Throopsville
    • Throopsville is located in Cayuga County
  • Throop
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Emerson
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emerson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson
    • Emerson is located in Cayuga County
  • Fosterville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fosterville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fosterville
    • Fosterville is located in Cayuga County
  • Sennett
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Conquest
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Conquest have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conquest
    • Conquest is located in Cayuga County
  • Auburn
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Spring Lake
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Lake
    • Spring Lake is located in Cayuga County
  • Jordan
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Savannah
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Savannah have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savannah
      • Savannah is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Savannah <2>
    • Skaneateles Junction
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Skaneateles Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skaneateles Junction
      • Skaneateles Junction is located in Onondaga County
    • Tyre
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tyre. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyre
      • Tyre is located in Seneca County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tyre
      • From Port Byron to Tyre

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Port Byron ...

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 102 newspapers that have been published in the area around Port Byron.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Port Byron. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Port Byron and those printed in the larger area surrounding Port Byron.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4> of Port Byron.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Port Byron:

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

The official website for Cayuga County: www.co.cayuga.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>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Port Byron) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Port Byron. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.0346, Longitude: -76.6238    
<5>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.
<6>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 Port Byron, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025