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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 Shongo (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 Shongo. 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 southwest 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 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.

Shongo is located in Cattaraugus 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 Cattaraugus County: Allegany, Chautauqua, Erie, Wyoming, McKean (PA) & Warren (PA).

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

  • Cattaraugus County     (The home county of Shongo)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shongo, with the one closest to Shongo listed first.
    • Salamanca
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Kill Buck
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Elkdale
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Elkdale is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkdale
    • Little Rock City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Little Rock City is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Rock City
    • Cold Spring
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Cold Spring is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Spring
    • Carrollton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Carrollton is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrollton
    • Little Valley
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Peth
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Peth is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peth
    • Napoli
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Napoli is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napoli
    • Quaker Bridge ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Quaker Bridge is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker Bridge
      • Quaker Bridge has also been known as:
      • Tunesassa
    • Great Valley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • East Randolph
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • East Randolph is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Randolph
      • Estimated population in 2012: 615 people
  • Allegany County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shongo, with the one closest to Shongo listed first.
    • Cuba
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Cuba is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,460 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cuba <1>
    • West Clarksville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • West Clarksville is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Clarksville
    • Bowler
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Bowler is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowler
    • Lyons Corners
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Lyons Corners is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons Corners
    • Black Creek
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Little Genesee
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Chautauqua County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shongo, with the one closest to Shongo listed first.
    • Ivory
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Ivory is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivory
    • Kennedy
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Poland Center
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Poland Center is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poland Center
    • Cherry Creek
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Frewsburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Falconer
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Kiantone
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Kiantone is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiantone
    • Ross Mills
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Ross Mills is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross Mills
    • Jamestown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Gerry
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Wango
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Wango is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wango
    • Celoron
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Erie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shongo, with the one closest to Shongo listed first.
    • Morton Corners
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Morton Corners is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morton Corners
    • Springville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Concord
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Concord is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
    • Wyandale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Wyandale is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyandale
  • McKean County (PA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shongo, with the one closest to Shongo listed first.
    • Tuna
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Tuna is located in McKean County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuna
    • Foster Brook
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Foster Brook is located in McKean County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Brook
    • Bradford
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Derrick City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Gilmore
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Gilmore is located in McKean County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore
    • Degolia
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Degolia is located in McKean County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Degolia
    • Sawyer City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Sawyer City is located in McKean County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawyer City
    • Custer City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Dallas City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Dallas City is located in McKean County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas City
    • Summit
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Summit is located in McKean County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
    • Lewis Run
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Duke Center
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Duke Center is located in McKean County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duke Center
  • Warren County (PA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shongo, with the one closest to Shongo listed first.
    • Sugar Run ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Sugar Run is located in Warren County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Run
    • Kinzua ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Kinzua is located in Warren County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinzua
    • Big Bend
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Big Bend is located in Warren County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bend
    • Hemlock
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Hemlock is located in Warren County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemlock
    • Putnamville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Putnamville is located in Warren County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putnamville
    • East Warren
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • East Warren is located in Warren County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Warren
    • Warren
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Warren is located in Warren County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,974 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Warren <1>
    • Stoneham
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Stoneham is located in Warren County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoneham
    • Clarendon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Sugar Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Shongo ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shongo.

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

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

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

  • Crawford Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Wildwood Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Ellicott Street Catholic Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Kill Buck Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Bunker Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Annis Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Maple Grove Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Steamburg Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Little Valley Rural Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Green Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • South Napoli Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (198 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Shongo had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Red House
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Red House is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red House
  • Salamanca
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Cold Spring
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cold Spring is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Spring
  • Kill Buck
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Elkdale
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Elkdale is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkdale
  • Steamburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • South Carrollton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • South Carrollton is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Carrollton
  • Carrollton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Carrollton is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrollton
  • Quaker Bridge ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Quaker Bridge is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker Bridge
    • Quaker Bridge has also been known as:
    • Tunesassa
  • Napoli
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Napoli is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Napoli
  • Little Valley
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Irvine Mills
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Irvine Mills is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvine Mills
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Great Valley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • East Randolph
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • East Randolph is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Randolph
      • Estimated population in 2012: 615 people
    • Elko ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Elko is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elko
      • Elko has also been known as:
      • Wolf Run

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

Newspapers Published in Shongo ...

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 82 newspapers that have been published in the area around Shongo.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Shongo, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Shongo.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 Shongo:

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