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 Sanford (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 Sanford. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.
Sanford is located in Allegany 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 Allegany County: Cattaraugus, Livingston, Steuben, Wyoming, McKean (PA) & Potter (PA).
Below are the counties that are near Sanford. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sanford:
- Allegany County (The home county of Sanford)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sanford, with the one closest to Sanford listed first.
- Bowler
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Bowler is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowler
- Little Genesee
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Bolivar
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Kossuth
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Kossuth is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kossuth
- Richburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- West Clarksville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- West Clarksville is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Clarksville
- Sawyer
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Sawyer is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawyer
- Vosburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Vosburg is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vosburg
- Alma
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Alma is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
- Pikeville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Pikeville is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pikeville
- Allentown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Petrolia
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Petrolia is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petrolia
- Cuba
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Cattaraugus County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sanford, with the one closest to Sanford listed first.
- Portville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Weston Mills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Weston Mills is located in Cattaraugus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston Mills
- Westons Mills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Olean
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Olean is located in Cattaraugus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olean
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,371 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Olean <1>
- Four Mile
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Four Mile is located in Cattaraugus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Mile
- Rock City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Rock City is located in Cattaraugus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
- Saint Bonaventure
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Allegany
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Harrisburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Harrisburg is located in Cattaraugus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg
- Abbotts
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Abbotts is located in Cattaraugus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbotts
- Chipmunk
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Chipmunk is located in Cattaraugus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chipmunk
- Ischua
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Ischua is located in Cattaraugus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ischua
- Humphrey
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Humphrey is located in Cattaraugus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Humphrey
- Steuben County
- Rexville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- McKean County (PA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sanford, with the one closest to Sanford listed first.
- Myrtle
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Myrtle is located in McKean County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtle
- Eldred
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Larabee
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Larabee is located in McKean County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larabee
- Sartwell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sartwell is located in McKean County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sartwell
- Duke Center
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Duke Center is located in McKean County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duke Center
- Port Allegany
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Rixford
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rixford is located in McKean County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rixford
- Wrights Corners
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Wrights Corners is located in McKean County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrights Corners
- Summit
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Summit is located in McKean County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Rew
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Rew is located in McKean County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rew
- Dallas City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Dallas City is located in McKean County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas City
- Derrick City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Gilmore
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Gilmore is located in McKean County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore
- Potter County (PA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sanford, with the one closest to Sanford listed first.
- Shinglehouse
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Honeoye
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Honeoye is located in Potter County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honeoye
- East Sharon
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- East Sharon is located in Potter County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sharon
- Millport
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Millport is located in Potter County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millport
- Chrystal
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Chrystal is located in Potter County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chrystal
- Coneville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Coneville is located in Potter County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coneville
- Williston
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Williston is located in Potter County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williston
- Oswayo
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Oswayo is located in Potter County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oswayo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 130 people
- Hebron
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hebron is located in Potter County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
- Roulette
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Ellisburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Ellisburg is located in Potter County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellisburg
- Genesee
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Genesee is located in Potter County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genesee
- Coudersport
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sanford, see our County-by-County Page for Sanford.
Cemeteries Near Sanford ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sanford.
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 Sanford - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sanford covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sanford, with the one closest to Sanford listed first.
- Well Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Little Genesee Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- West Genesee Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Maple Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Maple Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Maple Lawn Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- East Portville Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Chestnut Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Richburg Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Clarksville Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Continue List (163 more) ...
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Lamphier Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Portville Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portville Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Portville Cemetery is located outside and to the northeast of Weston Mills.
- The Portville Cemetery has also been known as:
- Haskell Cemetery
- Oakley Hill Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #65704 <2>
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 Sanford in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sanford.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sanford, with the one closest to Sanford listed first.
- Bowler
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Bowler is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowler
- Little Genesee
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Ceres
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Myrtle
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Myrtle is located in McKean County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtle
- Shinglehouse
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bolivar
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Obi
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Obi is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Obi
- East Sharon
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- East Sharon is located in Potter County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sharon
- Honeoye
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Honeoye is located in Potter County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honeoye
- Kossuth
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Kossuth is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kossuth
- Portville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Bullis Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Bullis Mills is located in McKean County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullis Mills
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Sharon Center
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sharon Center is located in Potter County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon Center
- South Bolivar
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- South Bolivar is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bolivar
- Annin Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Annin Creek is located in McKean County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annin Creek
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sanford. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sanford.
Newspapers Published in Sanford ...
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 29 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sanford.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sanford, 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 Sanford.
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 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 Sanford:
- Websites specific to New York
- Pages specific to Allegany County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cattaraugus County
- Steuben County
- McKean County
- Potter 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 Sanford, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Sanford) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |