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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 Saranac 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 Saranac 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 Saranac 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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Saranac Lake: Saranac Lk.

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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and 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.

Saranac Lake is primarily located in Essex County. A portion of Saranac Lake extends into Franklin 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 Essex County: Clinton, Franklin, Hamilton, Warren, Washington, Addison (VT) & Chittenden (VT).

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

  • Essex County     (The home county of Saranac Lake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saranac Lake, with the one closest to Saranac Lake listed first.
    • Ray Brook
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Bloomingdale
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Whiteface
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteface
      • Whiteface is located in Essex County
    • Lake Placid
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Placid have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Placid
      • Lake Placid is located in Essex County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,356 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake Placid <1>
    • North Elba
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Elba have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Elba
      • North Elba is located in Essex County
    • Upper Jay
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Tahawus
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tahawus have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tahawus
      • Tahawus is located in Essex County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tahawus <1>
    • Jay
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Saint Huberts
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Huberts
      • Saint Huberts is located in Essex County
    • North Jay
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Jay
      • North Jay is located in Essex County
    • Newcomb
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Elizabethtown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Lewis
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewis
      • Lewis is located in Essex County
  • Clinton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saranac Lake, with the one closest to Saranac Lake listed first.
    • Black Brook
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Brook
      • Black Brook is located in Clinton County
    • Au Sable Forks
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Redford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Standish
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standish
      • Standish is located in Clinton County
    • Thomasville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomasville
      • Thomasville is located in Clinton County
    • Moffitsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffitsville
      • Moffitsville is located in Clinton County
    • Lyon Mountain
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Harkness
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harkness
      • Harkness is located in Clinton County
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saranac Lake, with the one closest to Saranac Lake listed first.
    • Harrietstown
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrietstown
      • Harrietstown is located in Franklin County
    • Paul Smiths
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Saranac Inn
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saranac Inn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saranac Inn
      • Saranac Inn is located in Franklin County
    • Merrillsville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrillsville
      • Merrillsville is located in Franklin County
    • Tupper Lake
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Altamont
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Altamont came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
      • Altamont is located in Franklin County
  • Saint Lawrence County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saranac Lake, with the one closest to Saranac Lake listed first.
    • Horseshoe
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horseshoe
      • Horseshoe is located in Saint Lawrence County
    • Sevey
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sevey
      • Sevey is located in Saint Lawrence County

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

Newspapers Published in Saranac 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 24 newspapers that have been published in the area around Saranac Lake.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Saranac Lake, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Saranac Lake.

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 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 Saranac Lake:

Cemeteries Near Saranac Lake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Saranac 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.

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 Saranac Lake covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Pine Ridge Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pine Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pine Ridge Cemetery
  • St. Bernards Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Brookside Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brookside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brookside Cemetery
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mountain View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mountain View Cemetery
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Pauls Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Pauls Cemetery
  • Holy Name Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holy Name Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Name Cemetery
  • Brighton Memorial Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brighton Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brighton Memorial Park
  • Union Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Union Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Cemetery
  • John Browns Grave
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the John Browns Grave have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the John Browns Grave
  • North Elba Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Elba Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Elba Cemetery
  • Continue List   (35 more) ...
    • Goodspeed Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Goodspeed Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Goodspeed Cemetery
    • Franklin Falls Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Union Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Union Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Cemetery

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 Saranac Lake had a population of 768 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Saranac Lake had a population of 5,193 people.

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

  • Ray Brook
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Harrietstown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrietstown
    • Harrietstown is located in Franklin County
  • Bloomingdale
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Lake Placid
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Placid have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Placid
    • Lake Placid is located in Essex County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,356 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake Placid <1>
  • Vermontville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vermontville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vermontville
    • Vermontville is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vermontville <1>
  • Paul Smiths
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Saranac Inn
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saranac Inn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saranac Inn
    • Saranac Inn is located in Franklin County
  • North Elba
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Elba have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Elba
    • North Elba is located in Essex County
  • Franklin Falls
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Franklin Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Falls
    • Franklin Falls is located in Franklin County
  • Alder Brook
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alder Brook have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alder Brook
    • Alder Brook is located in Franklin County
  • Loon Lake
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loon Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loon Lake
    • Loon Lake is located in Franklin County
  • Wilmington
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilmington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington
    • Wilmington is located in Essex County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wilmington <1>
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Union Falls
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Falls
      • Union Falls is located in Clinton County
    • Tupper Lake
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Keene
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Keene have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keene
      • Keene is located in Essex County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Keene <1>

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

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

The official website for Essex County: www.co.essex.ny.us/

The official website for State of New York: https://www.ny.gov/

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 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.
<3>If we found a location and have questions about the accuracy of our information, we will simply say that the marker is 'in the vicinity'. We are not confident about the location and the position of our marker is only a rough guide. If we have too many doubts about the location, we will not include it in our database.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Saranac Lake) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Saranac Lake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.3297, Longitude: -74.1315    
<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 Saranac Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024