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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 South Columbia (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 South Columbia. 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 South Columbia ...

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 South Columbia: S. Columbia

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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

South Columbia is located in Herkimer 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 Herkimer County: Fulton, Hamilton, Lewis, Madison, Montgomery, Oneida, Otsego & Saint Lawrence.

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

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

Cemeteries Near South Columbia ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of South Columbia.

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

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

  • Reformed Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Reformed Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Reformed Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Presbyterian Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Presbyterian Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Presbyterian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bloomfield Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bloomfield Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bloomfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Crain Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Crain Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Crain Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Twilight Rest Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Twilight Rest Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Twilight Rest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lakeview Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Helmer Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Helmer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Helmer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Highland Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Highland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Highland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Paines Hollow Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Paines Hollow Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Paines Hollow Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Helmer Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Helmer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Helmer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Henderson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Henderson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Henderson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Crim Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (453 more) ...
    • Brown Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brown Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brown Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Dennison Corners Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dennison Corners Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dennison Corners Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Millers Mills Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Millers Mills Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Millers Mills Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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 South Columbia had a population of 161 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Richfield Springs
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richfield Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richfield Springs
    • Richfield Springs is located in Otsego County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,174 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richfield Springs <3>
  • Cullen
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cullen. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cullen
    • Cullen is located in Herkimer County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Cullen
    • From South Columbia to Cullen
  • Richfield
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richfield
    • Richfield is located in Otsego County
  • Jordanville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jordanville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordanville
    • Jordanville is located in Herkimer County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jordanville <3>
  • Millers Mills
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Warren
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Warren have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren
    • Warren is located in Herkimer County
  • Edicks
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Cedarville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Chepachet
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Cedarville Station
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedarville Station have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville Station
    • Cedarville Station is located in Herkimer County
  • Schuyler Lake
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Schuyler Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schuyler Lake
    • Schuyler Lake is located in Otsego County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Schuyler Lake <3>
  • Springfield Center
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Deck
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Paines Hollow
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • East Winfield
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Winfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Winfield
      • East Winfield is located in Herkimer County

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

Newspapers Published in South Columbia ...

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 47 newspapers that have been published in the area around South Columbia.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of South Columbia, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for South Columbia.

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 South Columbia:

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

The official website for Herkimer County: www.herkimercounty.org/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 South Columbia, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- South Columbia) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in South Columbia. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.8896, Longitude: -75.0023    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025