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 Spencertown (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 Spencertown. 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 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.
Spencertown is located in Columbia 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 Columbia County: Litchfield (CT), Berkshire (MA), Albany, Dutchess, Greene, Rensselaer & Ulster.
Below are the counties that are near Spencertown. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Spencertown:
- Columbia County (The home county of Spencertown)
- The following are listed by their distance from Spencertown, with the one closest to Spencertown listed first.
- Red Rock
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Red Rock is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Rock
- Moorhouse Corner
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Moorhouse Corner is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moorhouse Corner
- Austerlitz
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Chatham
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ghent
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Harlemville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Harlemville is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlemville
- New Concord
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- New Concord is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Concord
- Rock City
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Rock City is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
- Green River
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Green River is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green River
- Canaan Center
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Canaan Center is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canaan Center
- Canaan
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Chatham Center
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Chatham Center is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham Center
- Mellenville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Albany County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spencertown, with the one closest to Spencertown listed first.
- Coeymans
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Aquetuck
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Aquetuck is located in Albany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aquetuck
- Ravena
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Selkirk
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Beckers Corners
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Beckers Corners is located in Albany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beckers Corners
- Coeymans Hollow
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Alcove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- South Bethlehem
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- South Bethlehem is located in Albany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bethlehem
- Bethlehem Center
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bethlehem Center is located in Albany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem Center
- Glenmont
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Feura Bush
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Normansville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Normansville is located in Albany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Normansville
- Albany
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Dutchess County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spencertown, with the one closest to Spencertown listed first.
- Mount Ross
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Mount Ross is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Ross
- Jackson Corners
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Jackson Corners is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Corners
- Irondale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Irondale is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irondale
- Pine Plains
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Spencer Corners
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Spencer Corners is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spencer Corners
- Bethel
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Bethel is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Millerton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Upper Red Hook
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Upper Red Hook is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Red Hook
- Tivoli
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Cruger Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cruger Village is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cruger Village
- Milan
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Milan is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milan
- Red Hook
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rock City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rock City is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spencertown, with the one closest to Spencertown listed first.
- Coxsackie
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Athens
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Catskill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Catskill is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catskill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,815 people
- Jefferson Heights
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Jefferson Heights is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson Heights
- Leeds
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Medway
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Medway is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medway
- Cairo Junction
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Cairo Junction is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo Junction
- Gayhead
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Gayhead is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gayhead
- South Cairo
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- South Cairo is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Cairo
- Surprise
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Kiskatom
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Kiskatom is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiskatom
- Cairo
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Woodstock
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Woodstock is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
- Rensselaer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spencertown, with the one closest to Spencertown listed first.
- Brainard
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Nassau
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- East Nassau
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- East Nassau is located in Rensselaer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Nassau
- Population from the 2020 Census: 566 people
- Schodack Landing
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Hoag Corners
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Hoag Corners is located in Rensselaer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoag Corners
- Wyomanock
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wyomanock is located in Rensselaer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyomanock
- East Schodack
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Stephentown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Castleton-on-Hudson
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Schodack Center
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Schodack Center is located in Rensselaer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schodack Center
- West Stephentown
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- West Stephentown is located in Rensselaer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Stephentown
- Sliters
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Sliters is located in Rensselaer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sliters
- Best
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Best is located in Rensselaer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Best
- Ulster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spencertown, with the one closest to Spencertown listed first.
- Malden
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Malden is located in Ulster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malden
- Malden has also been known as:
- Malden-on-Hudson
- Quarryville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Quarryville is located in Ulster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quarryville
- Saugerties
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Glasco
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Marion
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Marion Park
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Marion Park is located in Ulster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Marion Park
- Litchfield County (CT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Spencertown, with the one closest to Spencertown listed first.
- Taconic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Twin Lakes
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Twin Lakes is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes
- Wangum Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Wangum Village is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wangum Village
- Canaan
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Clayton
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Clayton is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
- North Canaan
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- North Canaan is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Canaan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,235 people
- Salisbury
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Salisbury is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,584 people
- Salisbury
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Lakeville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Ore Hill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Ore Hill is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ore Hill
- East Canaan
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Amesville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Amesville is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amesville
- Canaan
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Canaan is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canaan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,051 people
- Berkshire County (MA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Spencertown, with the one closest to Spencertown listed first.
- Rockdale Mills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Rockdale Mills is located in Berkshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale Mills
- Richmond
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Richmond is located in Berkshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,410 people
- West Stockbridge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- West Stockbridge is located in Berkshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Stockbridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,250 people
- Alford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Alford is located in Berkshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 485 people
- Glendale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Glendale is located in Berkshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
- Housatonic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Housatonic is located in Berkshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Housatonic
- North Egremont
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- North Egremont is located in Berkshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Egremont
- Stockbridge
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Stockbridge is located in Berkshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockbridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,883 people
- Egremont Plain
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Egremont Plain is located in Berkshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egremont Plain
- Van Deusenville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Van Deusenville is located in Berkshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Deusenville
- Stevens Corner
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Stevens Corner is located in Berkshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stevens Corner
- Egremont
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Egremont is located in Berkshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egremont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,202 people
- Great Barrington
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Great Barrington is located in Berkshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Barrington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,976 people
- Hampden County (MA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Spencertown, with the one closest to Spencertown listed first.
- Chester
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Chester is located in Hampden County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,365 people
- North Blandford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- North Blandford is located in Hampden County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Blandford
- Hampshire County (MA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Spencertown, with the one closest to Spencertown listed first.
- Middlefield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Middlefield is located in Hampshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlefield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 538 people
- Worthington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Worthington is located in Hampshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,176 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Spencertown, see our County-by-County Page for Spencertown.
Cemeteries Near Spencertown ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Spencertown.
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 Spencertown - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Spencertown covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Spencertown, with the one closest to Spencertown listed first.
- Spencertown Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Red Rock Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Chatham Rural Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- St. James Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Columbia County Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Harlemville Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Austerlitz Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Lovejoy - Beebe Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Snyder Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Ghent Union Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Crum Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Mountain View Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (335 more) ...
- Shufelt Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- German Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Sacred Heart Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
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 Spencertown had a population of 215 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Spencertown, with the one closest to Spencertown listed first.
- Red Rock
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Red Rock is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Rock
- Austerlitz
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Chatham
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ghent
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Harlemville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Harlemville is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlemville
- Green River
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Green River is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green River
- New Concord
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- New Concord is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Concord
- Pulvers
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pulvers is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulvers
- North Hillsdale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- North Hillsdale is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hillsdale
- Canaan Center
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Canaan Center is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canaan Center
- East Chatham
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- East Chatham is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Chatham
- Mellenville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Philmont
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Chatham Center
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Chatham Center is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham Center
- State Line
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- State Line is located in Berkshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Spencertown. See our List of 1890's Communities around Spencertown.
Newspapers Published in Spencertown ...
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 69 newspapers that have been published in the area around Spencertown.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Spencertown, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Spencertown.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Spencertown:
- Websites specific to New York
- Pages specific to Columbia County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Albany County
- Dutchess County
- Greene County
- Rensselaer County
- Ulster County
- Litchfield County
- Berkshire County
- Hampden County
- Hampshire County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for New York
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 Spencertown, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Spencertown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |