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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 Onondaga (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 Onondaga. 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 Onondaga ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for South Onondaga: S. Onondaga

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 Onondaga is located in Onondaga 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 Onondaga County: Cayuga, Cortland, Madison & Oswego.

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

  • Onondaga County     (The home county of South Onondaga)
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Onondaga, with the one closest to South Onondaga listed first.
    • Indian Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Indian Village is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
    • Nedrow
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Cards Corners
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Cards Corners is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cards Corners
    • Otisco
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Otisco is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otisco
    • Cardiff
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Cardiff is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardiff
    • Sentinel Heights
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Sentinel Heights is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sentinel Heights
    • LaFayette
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • LaFayette is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for LaFayette
      • LaFayette has also been known as:
      • LaFayette Square
      • Te-Ka-Wis-To-Ta
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for LaFayette <1>
    • Amber
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Amber is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amber
    • Rose Hill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Rose Hill is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill
    • Thorn Hill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Thorn Hill is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorn Hill
    • Marcellus
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Otisco Valley
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Otisco Valley is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otisco Valley
    • Camillus
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Cayuga County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Onondaga, with the one closest to South Onondaga listed first.
    • New Hope
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • New Hope is located in Cayuga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
    • Niles
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Niles is located in Cayuga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Niles
    • Kelloggsville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Kelloggsville is located in Cayuga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelloggsville
    • Sempronius
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Sempronius is located in Cayuga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sempronius
    • Austin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Austin is located in Cayuga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austin
    • Omro
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Omro is located in Cayuga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omro
    • Dresserville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Dresserville is located in Cayuga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dresserville
    • Melrose Park
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Melrose Park is located in Cayuga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose Park
    • Sennett
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Cascade
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Cascade is located in Cayuga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade
    • Montville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Montville is located in Cayuga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montville
    • Auburn
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Moravia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Chenango County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Onondaga, with the one closest to South Onondaga listed first.
    • Otselic Center
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Otselic Center is located in Chenango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otselic Center
    • Otselic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Otselic is located in Chenango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otselic
    • Pitcher
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • South Otselic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Cortland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Onondaga, with the one closest to South Onondaga listed first.
    • Cummings Crossing
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Cummings Crossing is located in Cortland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cummings Crossing
    • Preble
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Scott
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Scott is located in Cortland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott
    • East Scott
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • East Scott is located in Cortland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Scott
    • Slab City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Slab City is located in Cortland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slab City
    • Little York
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Little York is located in Cortland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little York
    • Pratt Corners
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Pratt Corners is located in Cortland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt Corners
    • Truxton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Crains Mills
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Crains Mills is located in Cortland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crains Mills
    • East Homer
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • East Homer is located in Cortland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Homer
    • East River
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • East River is located in Cortland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East River
    • Homer
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Homer is located in Cortland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,080 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Homer <1>
    • Cortland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Onondaga, with the one closest to South Onondaga listed first.
    • Rippleton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Rippleton is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rippleton
    • Union
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Union is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
    • Cazenovia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • New Woodstock
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • New Woodstock is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Woodstock
    • Bingley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Bingley is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bingley
    • Chittenango Falls
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Chittenango Falls is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chittenango Falls
    • Sulphur Springs
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Sulphur Springs is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
      • Sulphur Springs has also been known as:
      • Chittenango Springs
    • Bolivar
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Bolivar is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolivar
    • Bridgeport
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Chittenango
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Puckerville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Puckerville is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puckerville
    • Sullivan
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Sullivan is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
    • DeRuyter
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • DeRuyter is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for DeRuyter
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 518 people
  • Oneida County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Onondaga, with the one closest to South Onondaga listed first.
    • Jewell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jewell is located in Oneida County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell
    • Sylvan Beach
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Oswego County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Onondaga, with the one closest to South Onondaga listed first.
    • Phoenix
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Sand Ridge
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Sand Ridge is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Ridge
    • Caughdenoy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Caughdenoy is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caughdenoy
    • Hinmansville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Hinmansville is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinmansville
    • Central Square
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Pennellville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Constantia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • South Granby
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • South Granby is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Granby
    • West Monroe
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • West Monroe is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Monroe
    • Nicholsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Nicholsville is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicholsville
    • Bowens Corners
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Bowens Corners is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowens Corners
    • Gayville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Gayville is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gayville
    • Cleveland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Seneca County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Onondaga, with the one closest to South Onondaga listed first.
    • Canoga
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Canoga is located in Seneca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canoga
    • Kuneytown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Kuneytown is located in Seneca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kuneytown
    • Seneca Falls
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • East Varick
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • East Varick is located in Seneca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Varick
    • Tyre
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Tyre is located in Seneca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyre
  • Tompkins County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Onondaga, with the one closest to South Onondaga listed first.
    • Groton City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Groton City is located in Tompkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groton City
    • Groton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • West Groton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • West Groton is located in Tompkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Groton
    • McLean
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • North Lansing
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • North Lansing is located in Tompkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Lansing
    • Peruville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Peruville is located in Tompkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peruville
    • East Lansing
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • East Lansing is located in Tompkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lansing
    • Freeville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Dryden
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Lake Ridge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Lake Ridge is located in Tompkins County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ridge

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

Cemeteries Near South Onondaga ...

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

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 South Onondaga - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • South Onondaga Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Budlong Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Pine Ridge Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Onondaga Nation Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Cedarvale Kennon Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarvale Kennon Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Cedarvale Kennon Cemetery is located 5 miles [8 km]<2> to the east of Marcellus.
    • The Cedarvale Kennon Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Cedarvale Cemetery
    • Kennon Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #64161 <3>
  • St. Patricks Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Maple Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Jackson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Hillsdale Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Cardiff Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Webb Hollow Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Onondaga Valley Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (477 more) ...
    • Gilbert Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Fellows Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Burtis Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)

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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that South Onondaga had a population of 258 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Cedarvale
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Cedarvale is located in Onondaga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarvale
  • Navarino
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Navarino is located in Onondaga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navarino
  • Otisco
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Otisco is located in Onondaga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otisco
  • Cardiff
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Cardiff is located in Onondaga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardiff
  • Onondaga Castle
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Onondaga Castle is located in Onondaga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onondaga Castle
  • Marietta
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Amber
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Amber is located in Onondaga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amber
  • LaFayette
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • LaFayette is located in Onondaga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for LaFayette
    • LaFayette has also been known as:
    • LaFayette Square
    • Te-Ka-Wis-To-Ta
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for LaFayette <1>
  • Rose Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Rose Hill is located in Onondaga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill
  • Thorn Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Thorn Hill is located in Onondaga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorn Hill
  • Howlett Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Howlett Hill is located in Onondaga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howlett Hill
  • Shamrock
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Shamrock is located in Onondaga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shamrock
  • Continue List   (22 more) ...
    • Otisco Valley
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Otisco Valley is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otisco Valley
    • Collingwood
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Collingwood is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collingwood
    • Marcellus
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in South Onondaga ...

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 209 newspapers that have been published in the area around South Onondaga.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of South Onondaga, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for South Onondaga.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Onondaga:

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>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- South Onondaga) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Onondaga, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.