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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 Sayville (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 Sayville. 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 and doctors 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.

Sayville is located in Suffolk County.

To see how the shape of New York's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

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

  • Suffolk County     (The home county of Sayville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sayville, with the one closest to Sayville listed first.
    • West Sayville
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Sayville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Sayville
      • West Sayville is located in Suffolk County
    • Bayport
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Blue Point
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Bohemia
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Patchogue
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Oakdale
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oakdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale
      • Oakdale is located in Suffolk County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oakdale <2>
    • East Patchogue
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Patchogue have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Patchogue
      • East Patchogue is located in Suffolk County
    • Water Island
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Great River
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Great River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great River
      • Great River is located in Suffolk County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Great River <2>
    • North Great River
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Great River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Great River
      • North Great River is located in Suffolk County
    • Holbrook
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holbrook
      • Holbrook is located in Suffolk County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holbrook <2>
    • East Islip
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Nassau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sayville, with the one closest to Sayville listed first.
    • South Farmingdale
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Farmingdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Farmingdale
      • South Farmingdale is located in Nassau County
    • East Massapequa
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Massapequa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Massapequa
      • East Massapequa is located in Nassau County
    • Farmingdale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Massapequa Park
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Massapequa Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massapequa Park
      • Massapequa Park is located in Nassau County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,034 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Massapequa Park <2>
    • Old Bethpage
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Bethpage have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Bethpage
      • Old Bethpage is located in Nassau County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Old Bethpage <2>
    • Bethpage
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Biltmore Shores
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Harbor Green
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Massapequa
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • North Massapequa
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Massapequa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Massapequa
      • North Massapequa is located in Nassau County
    • Plainview
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plainview have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainview
      • Plainview is located in Nassau County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plainview <2>
    • Swedetown Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swedetown Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedetown Village
      • Swedetown Village is located in Nassau County
  • Fairfield County (CT)

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

Cemeteries Near Sayville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sayville.

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

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

  • St. Ann's Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Ann's Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Ann's Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Union Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • St. Lawrence Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Lawrence Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Lawrence Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Blue Point Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Blue Point Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Blue Point Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bohemia Union Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • St. John Nepomucene RC Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. John Nepomucene RC Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. John Nepomucene RC Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rice Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rice Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rice Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lakeview Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lakeview Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lakeview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. de Sales Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Cedar Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Patchogue Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Patchogue Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Patchogue Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Waverly Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Waverly Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Waverly Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (176 more) ...

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Sayville had a population of 1,600 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Sayville ...

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 196 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sayville.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Sayville. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Sayville and those printed in the larger area surrounding Sayville.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<6> of Sayville.

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 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 Sayville:

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

The official website for Suffolk County: www.co.suffolk.ny.us/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>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.
<5>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 Sayville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Sayville) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sayville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.7362, Longitude: -73.0822    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025