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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 Stillwater (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 Stillwater. 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 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.

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

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

  • Herkimer County     (The home county of Stillwater)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stillwater, with the one closest to Stillwater listed first.
    • Beaver River
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Thendara
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Thendara is located in Herkimer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thendara
  • Hamilton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stillwater, with the one closest to Stillwater listed first.
    • Inlet
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Raquette Lake
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Blue Mountain Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stillwater, with the one closest to Stillwater listed first.
    • Natural Bridge
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Carthage
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • West Carthage
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • West Carthage is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Carthage
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,901 people
  • Lewis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stillwater, with the one closest to Stillwater listed first.
    • Number Four
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Number Four is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Number Four
    • Belfort
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Belfort is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belfort
    • Crystal Dale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Crystal Dale is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Dale
    • Jerden Falls
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jerden Falls is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerden Falls
    • Croghan
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Indian River
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Indian River is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian River
    • Petries Corners
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Petries Corners is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petries Corners
    • Forest City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Forest City is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
    • Greig
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Watson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Watson is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson
    • Harrisville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • East Martinsburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • East Martinsburg is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Martinsburg
    • Glendale
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Oneida County
  • Saint Lawrence County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stillwater, with the one closest to Stillwater listed first.
    • Wanakena
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Star Lake
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Coffins Mills
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Coffins Mills is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffins Mills
    • Jayville ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jayville is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jayville
    • Oswegatchie
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Lower Oswegatchie
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Lower Oswegatchie is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Oswegatchie
    • Newton Falls
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Cranberry Lake
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Horseshoe
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Horseshoe is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horseshoe
    • South Edwards
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • South Edwards is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Edwards

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

Cemeteries Near Stillwater ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Stillwater.

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

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

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

  • Riverview Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Wetmore Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Wanakena Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Tinney Corners Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Stephens Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Basselin Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Brantingham Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Huberts Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
  • Salem Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
  • Beaches Bridge Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
  • Oswegatchie Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
  • Oswegatchie Corners Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (40 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.<4>

While we didn't find Stillwater in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Stillwater.

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

  • Number Four
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Number Four is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Number Four
  • Old Forge
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Belfort
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Belfort is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belfort
  • Kirschnerville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Kirschnerville is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirschnerville
  • Crystal Dale
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Crystal Dale is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Dale
  • Minnehaha
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Minnehaha is located in Herkimer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnehaha
  • Jerden Falls
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jerden Falls is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerden Falls
  • Petries Corners
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Petries Corners is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petries Corners
  • Indian River
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Indian River is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian River
  • Croghan
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Brantingham
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Jayville ‑ Historic
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Jayville is located in Saint Lawrence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jayville
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Raquette Lake
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Benson Mines
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Benson Mines is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benson Mines
    • Coffins Mills
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Coffins Mills is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffins Mills

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

Newspapers Published in Stillwater ...

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 49 newspapers that have been published in the area around Stillwater.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Stillwater, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Stillwater.

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 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 Stillwater:

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