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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 Preston Center (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 Preston Center. 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 Preston Center ...

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 occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Preston Center: Preston Ctr. (or less commonly used: Preston Cen., Preston Cent. or Preston Cntr.)

You might see Preston Centre instead of Preston Center.

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.

For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.

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 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 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.

Preston Center is located in Chenango 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 Chenango County: Broome, Cortland, Delaware, Madison & Otsego.

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

  • Chenango County     (The home county of Preston Center)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Preston Center, with the one closest to Preston Center listed first.
    • Haynes
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Haynes is located in Chenango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes
    • Norwich
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Oxford
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Kirk
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Kirk is located in Chenango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirk
    • Plymouth
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • North Norwich
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • North Norwich is located in Chenango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Norwich
    • Adams Corner
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Adams Corner is located in Chenango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams Corner
    • Guilford
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Lathams Corners
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Lathams Corners is located in Chenango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lathams Corners
    • Beaver Meadow
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Beaver Meadow is located in Chenango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Meadow
    • Yaleville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Yaleville is located in Chenango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yaleville
    • Mount Upton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Broome County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Preston Center, with the one closest to Preston Center listed first.
    • Triangle
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Triangle is located in Broome County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Triangle
    • North Colesville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • North Colesville is located in Broome County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Colesville
    • Quinneville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Quinneville is located in Broome County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinneville
    • Upper Lisle
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Upper Lisle is located in Broome County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Lisle
    • Belden
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Belden is located in Broome County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belden
    • Nineveh
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Creekside Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Creekside Village is located in Broome County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creekside Village
    • Harpursville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Whitney Point
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Killawog
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Center Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Center Village is located in Broome County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Village
    • Lisle
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
  • Cortland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Preston Center, with the one closest to Preston Center listed first.
    • Marathon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Solon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Solon is located in Cortland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solon
    • Crains Mills
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Crains Mills is located in Cortland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crains Mills
    • Messengerville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Messengerville is located in Cortland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Messengerville
    • Lapeer
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Lapeer is located in Cortland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lapeer
    • Truxton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • McGraw
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • East Homer
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • East Homer is located in Cortland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Homer
    • East River
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • East River is located in Cortland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East River
    • Slab City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Slab City is located in Cortland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slab City
    • Cortland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Delaware County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Preston Center, with the one closest to Preston Center listed first.
    • Sidney
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Masonville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Sidney Center
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Franklin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Tacoma
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Tacoma is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tacoma
    • Merrickville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Merrickville is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrickville
    • North Franklin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • North Franklin is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Franklin
    • China
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • China is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for China
    • Barbourville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Barbourville is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barbourville
    • Hambletville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Hambletville is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hambletville
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Preston Center, with the one closest to Preston Center listed first.
    • Earlville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • South Hamilton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • South Hamilton is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hamilton
    • Hamilton Center
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Hamilton Center is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton Center
    • Randallsville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Randallsville is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randallsville
    • East Hamilton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • East Hamilton is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Hamilton
    • Hamilton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • DeRuyter
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • DeRuyter is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for DeRuyter
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 518 people
    • Puckerville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Puckerville is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puckerville
    • Pecksport
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Pecksport is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pecksport
    • West Eaton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • West Eaton is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Eaton
    • Brookfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Bouckville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
  • Oneida County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Preston Center, with the one closest to Preston Center listed first.
    • Stockwell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Stockwell is located in Oneida County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockwell
    • Oriskany Falls
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Sangerfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Onondaga County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Preston Center, with the one closest to Preston Center listed first.
    • Fabius
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Delphi Falls
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Otsego County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Preston Center, with the one closest to Preston Center listed first.
    • Copes Corner
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Copes Corner is located in Otsego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copes Corner
    • Gilbertsville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Morris
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Youmans Corner
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Youmans Corner is located in Otsego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youmans Corner
    • Pittsfield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Pittsfield is located in Otsego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsfield
    • South Edmeston
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • South Edmeston is located in Otsego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Edmeston
    • Unadilla
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Wells Bridge
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Otego
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Edmeston
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Garrattsville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Welcome
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Welcome is located in Otsego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welcome
  • Tioga County
    • Ketchumville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Ketchumville is located in Tioga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ketchumville

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

Cemeteries Near Preston Center ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Preston Center.

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 Preston Center - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Mason - Packer Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Packer - Mason Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Rogers Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Curtiss Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Harris Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Lewis Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Stafford Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Heady Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Blackman Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Slater Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Corbin Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (432 more) ...
    • Beardsley Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • St. Joseph's Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • State Street Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 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.<2>

While we didn't find Preston Center in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Preston Center.

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

  • Preston
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Preston is located in Chenango County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
  • Haynes
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Haynes is located in Chenango County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes
  • Oxford
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Norwich
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • East McDonough
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • East McDonough is located in Chenango County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East McDonough
  • South Plymouth
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • South Plymouth is located in Chenango County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Plymouth
  • Tyner
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Tyner is located in Chenango County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyner
  • East Pharsalia
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Kirk
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Kirk is located in Chenango County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirk
  • Plymouth
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • South Oxford
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • South Oxford is located in Chenango County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Oxford
  • North Norwich
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • North Norwich is located in Chenango County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Norwich
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • North Pharsalia
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • North Pharsalia is located in Chenango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Pharsalia
    • McDonough
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Guilford
      (9 miles [14.5 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 Preston Center. See our List of 1890's Communities around Preston Center.

Newspapers Published in Preston Center ...

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 118 newspapers that have been published in the area around Preston Center.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Preston Center, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Preston Center.

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 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 Preston Center:

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>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 Preston Center, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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- Preston Center) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.