RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of New York >> Chenango County >> South Otselic >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Otselic (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 Otselic. 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 Otselic ...

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 Otselic: S. Otselic

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 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.

South Otselic is located in Chenango 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 Chenango County: Broome, Cortland, Delaware, Madison & Otsego.

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

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

Cemeteries Near South Otselic ...

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

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

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

  • Valley View Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Ufford Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ufford Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ufford Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • North West Corners Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North West Corners Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North West Corners Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rhode Island Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rhode Island Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rhode Island Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • North Pitcher Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Pitcher Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Pitcher Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Seventh Day Hollow Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Seventh Day Hollow Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Seventh Day Hollow Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pharsalia Center Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pharsalia Center Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pharsalia Center Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pink Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pink Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pink Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Crane Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Crane Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Crane Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cole Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cole Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cole Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodlawn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodlawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Union Valley Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Valley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Union Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (443 more) ...
    • Hinman Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hinman Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hinman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Soper Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Soper Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Soper Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Kirk Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kirk Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kirk 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 Otselic had a population of 402 people in 1895 with no post office or railroad service.

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

  • North Pitcher
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Pitcher have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Pitcher
    • North Pitcher is located in Chenango County
  • Pitcher Springs
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pitcher Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pitcher Springs
    • Pitcher Springs is located in Chenango County
  • Mariposa
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mariposa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mariposa
    • Mariposa is located in Chenango County
  • Pharsalia
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pharsalia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pharsalia
    • Pharsalia is located in Chenango County
  • North Pharsalia
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Pharsalia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Pharsalia
    • North Pharsalia is located in Chenango County
  • Otselic Center
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Beaver Meadow
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Lincklaen Center
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lincklaen Center have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincklaen Center
    • Lincklaen Center is located in Chenango County
  • Lincklaen
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lincklaen have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincklaen
    • Lincklaen is located in Chenango County
  • Pitcher
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pitcher have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pitcher
    • Pitcher is located in Chenango County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pitcher <3>
  • Otselic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Taylor Center
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Taylor Center have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor Center
    • Taylor Center is located in Cortland County
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Taylor
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Taylor have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor
      • Taylor is located in Cortland County
    • East Pharsalia
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Pharsalia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Pharsalia
      • East Pharsalia is located in Chenango County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for East Pharsalia <3>
    • Kirk
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kirk. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirk
      • Kirk is located in Chenango County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kirk
      • From South Otselic to Kirk

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of South Otselic ...

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 48 newspapers that have been published in the area around South Otselic.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of South Otselic. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of South Otselic and those printed in the larger area surrounding South Otselic.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<6> of South Otselic.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 South Otselic:

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 Otselic, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- South Otselic) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in South Otselic. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.6479, Longitude: -75.7840