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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 Rainbow Shores (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 Shores. 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 Shores ...

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 Shores: Rainbow Shrs.

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 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.

Rainbow Shores is located in Oswego 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 Oswego County: Cayuga, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida & Onondaga.

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

  • Oswego County     (The home county of Rainbow Shores)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rainbow Shores, with the one closest to Rainbow Shores listed first.
    • Daysville Corner
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Daysville Corner is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daysville Corner
    • Pulaski
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Sandy Creek
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Daysville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Daysville is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daysville
    • Lacona
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Richland
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Texas
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Texas is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Texas
    • Arthur
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Arthur is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthur
    • Orwell
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Mexico
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Prattham
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Prattham is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prattham
    • Albion Center
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Albion Center is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion Center
  • Cayuga County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rainbow Shores, with the one closest to Rainbow Shores listed first.
    • North Sterling
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • North Sterling is located in Cayuga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Sterling
    • Sterling Valley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Sterling Valley is located in Cayuga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling Valley
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rainbow Shores, with the one closest to Rainbow Shores listed first.
    • Ellisburg
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Woodville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Woodville is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
    • Mannsville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jefferson Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Jefferson Park is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson Park
    • Belleville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Lorraine
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Henderson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Adams
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Adams is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,687 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Adams <1>
    • Lyon Corner
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Lyon Corner is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyon Corner
    • Adams Center
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Worth Center
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Worth Center is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worth Center
    • Worth
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Worth is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worth
  • Lewis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rainbow Shores, with the one closest to Rainbow Shores listed first.
    • Barnes Corners
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Barnes Corners is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnes Corners
    • Osceola
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Osceola is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola
    • New Boston
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • New Boston is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Boston
    • Parkers
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Parkers is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkers
    • Rector
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Rector is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rector
    • Leisher Mill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Leisher Mill is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisher Mill
    • Michigan Mills
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Michigan Mills is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michigan Mills
  • Oneida County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rainbow Shores, with the one closest to Rainbow Shores listed first.
    • Camden
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Elpis
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Elpis is located in Oneida County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elpis
  • Onondaga County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rainbow Shores, with the one closest to Rainbow Shores listed first.
    • Brewerton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Wrights Corners
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Wrights Corners is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrights Corners
    • Clay
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Euclid
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Euclid is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Euclid
    • Jacksonville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Little Utica
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Little Utica is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Utica

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

Cemeteries Near Rainbow Shores ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rainbow Shores.

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 Shores - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Brown's Landing Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • North Street Road Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Pulaski Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Daysville Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Scripture Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Union Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Riverside Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Parker - Ramsey Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • South Richland Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Richland Village Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Noyes Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (189 more) ...
    • Stevens Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Brewster Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • McClelland Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)

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 Shores in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Rainbow Shores.

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

  • Port Ontario
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Port Ontario is located in Oswego County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Ontario
  • Pulaski
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Daysville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Daysville is located in Oswego County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daysville
  • Sandy Creek
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Lacona
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Texas
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Texas is located in Oswego County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Texas
  • Richland
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Arthur
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Arthur is located in Oswego County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthur
  • Ellisburg
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Mannsville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Woodville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Woodville is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
  • New Haven
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • New Haven is located in Oswego County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Haven
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Mexico
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Prattham
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Prattham is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prattham
    • Orwell
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in Rainbow Shores ...

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 76 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rainbow Shores.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rainbow Shores, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rainbow Shores.

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 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 Rainbow Shores:

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 Shores, 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' (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- Rainbow Shores) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.