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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 Sylvan Beach (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 Sylvan Beach. 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 Sylvan Beach ...

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 Sylvan Beach: Sylvan Bch.

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 doctors and hospitals 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.

Sylvan Beach is located in Oneida 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 Oneida County: Herkimer, Lewis, Madison, Oswego & Otsego.

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

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

Cemeteries Near Sylvan Beach ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sylvan Beach.

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

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

  • Murray Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Murray Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Murray Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Doxtater Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Doxtater Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Doxtater Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cook Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cook Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cook Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oneida Lake Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oneida Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oneida Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Whitelaw Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Whitelaw Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Whitelaw Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Walker Corners Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Walker Corners Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Walker Corners Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • West Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Happy Valley Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Happy Valley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Happy Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bradock Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bradock Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bradock Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • McConnellsville Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McConnellsville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McConnellsville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Francis Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Francis Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Francis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (383 more) ...
    • Lewis Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lewis Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lewis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Lynch Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lynch Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lynch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Lakewood Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lakewood Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lakewood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Sylvan Beach had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Sylvan Beach had a population of 887 people.

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

  • Verona Beach
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Verona Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verona Beach
    • Verona Beach is located in Oneida County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Verona Beach <2>
  • North Bay
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • South Bay
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bay
    • South Bay is located in Madison County
  • Oneida Valley
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Vienna
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Vienna. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vienna
    • Vienna is located in Oneida County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Vienna
    • From Sylvan Beach to Vienna
  • State Bridge
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for State Bridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Bridge
    • State Bridge is located in Oneida County
  • Higginsville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Higginsville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Higginsville
    • Higginsville is located in Oneida County
  • Whitelaw
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Whitelaw. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitelaw
    • Whitelaw is located in Madison County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Whitelaw
    • From Sylvan Beach to Whitelaw
  • McConnellsville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Durhamville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Durhamville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durhamville
    • Durhamville is located in Oneida County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Durhamville <2>
  • New London
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New London have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New London
    • New London is located in Oneida County
  • Humaston
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Humaston. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Humaston
    • Humaston is located in Oneida County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Humaston
    • From Sylvan Beach to Humaston
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Blossvale
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Elpis
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elpis. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elpis
      • Elpis is located in Oneida County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Elpis
      • From Sylvan Beach to Elpis
    • Lakeport
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakeport have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeport
      • Lakeport is located in Madison County

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

Newspapers Published in Sylvan Beach ...

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 34 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sylvan Beach.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sylvan Beach, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sylvan Beach.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Sylvan Beach:

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

The official website for Oneida County: www.co.oneida.ny.us/

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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<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 Sylvan Beach, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Sylvan Beach) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sylvan Beach. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.1992, Longitude: -75.7289    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025