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 Rainbow 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 Rainbow 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 Rainbow 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.
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 Rainbow Lake: Rainbow Lk.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Rainbow Lake. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Rainbow 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 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.
Rainbow Lake is located in Franklin 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 Franklin County: Clinton, Essex, Hamilton & Saint Lawrence.
Below are the counties that are near Rainbow Lake. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rainbow Lake:
- Franklin County (The home county of Rainbow Lake)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rainbow Lake, with the one closest to Rainbow Lake listed first.
- Harrietstown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Harrietstown is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrietstown
- Paul Smiths
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Merrillsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Merrillsville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrillsville
- Franklin Falls
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Franklin Falls is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Falls
- Alder Brook
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Alder Brook is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alder Brook
- Saranac Inn
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Saranac Inn is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saranac Inn
- Altamont
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Altamont is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
- Tupper Lake
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Regis Falls
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Skerry
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Skerry is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skerry
- Whippleville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Bangor
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- East Dickinson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- East Dickinson is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Dickinson
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rainbow Lake, with the one closest to Rainbow Lake listed first.
- Clayburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Clayburg is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayburg
- Standish
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Standish is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standish
- Redford
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Black Brook
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Black Brook is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Brook
- Lyon Mountain
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Moffitsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Moffitsville is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffitsville
- Au Sable Forks
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Thomasville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Thomasville is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomasville
- Harrigan
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Harrigan is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrigan
- Dannemora
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Harkness
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Harkness is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harkness
- Cadyville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ellenburg Center
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Essex County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rainbow Lake, with the one closest to Rainbow Lake listed first.
- Bloomingdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Saranac Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Ray Brook
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Whiteface
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Whiteface is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteface
- Lake Placid
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Wilmington
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- North Elba
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- North Elba is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Elba
- Upper Jay
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jay
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- North Jay
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- North Jay is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Jay
- Tahawus
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Saint Huberts
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Huberts is located in Essex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Huberts
- Saint Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rainbow Lake, with the one closest to Rainbow Lake listed first.
- Nicholville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sevey
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sevey is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sevey
- Hopkinton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hopkinton is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopkinton
- Stark
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Stark is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stark
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rainbow Lake, see our County-by-County Page for Rainbow Lake.
Cemeteries Near Rainbow Lake ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rainbow 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 Rainbow Lake - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rainbow Lake covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rainbow Lake, with the one closest to Rainbow Lake listed first.
- Brighton Memorial Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Mountain View Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Mountain View Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Union Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Brookside Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- St. Pauls Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Merrillsville Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- St. Bernards Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Pine Ridge Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Goodspeed Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Franklin Falls Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Continue List (80 more) ...
- Union Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- St. Rose Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Hoose Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
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 Rainbow Lake in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Rainbow Lake.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rainbow Lake, with the one closest to Rainbow Lake listed first.
- Paul Smiths
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Harrietstown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Harrietstown is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrietstown
- Bloomingdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Vermontville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Loon Lake
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Loon Lake is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loon Lake
- Saranac Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Franklin Falls
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Franklin Falls is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Falls
- Saranac Inn
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Saranac Inn is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saranac Inn
- Alder Brook
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Alder Brook is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alder Brook
- Goldsmith
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Goldsmith is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldsmith
- Ray Brook
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Union Falls
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Union Falls is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Falls
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Wolf Pond
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Wolf Pond is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Pond
- Lake Placid
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Spring Cove
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Spring Cove is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Cove
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rainbow Lake. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rainbow Lake.
Newspapers Published in Rainbow 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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rainbow Lake.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rainbow Lake, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rainbow Lake.
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 Rainbow Lake:
- Websites specific to New York
- Pages specific to Franklin County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clinton County
- Essex County
- Saint Lawrence County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for New York
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 Rainbow 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Rainbow Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |