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 Van Allen Park (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 Van Allen Park. 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 hospitals and 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.
Van Allen Park is located in Rensselaer 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 Rensselaer County : Berkshire (MA) , Albany , Columbia , Greene , Saratoga , Washington & Bennington (VT) .
Below are the counties that are near Van Allen Park. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Van Allen Park:
Rensselaer County (The home county of Van Allen Park)
The following are listed by their distance from Van Allen Park, with the one closest to Van Allen Park listed first.
Defreestville (Less than 2 miles to the east)
Defreestville is located in Rensselaer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Defreestville Couse (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
Couse is located in Rensselaer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Couse Hampton Manor (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
Hampton Manor is located in Rensselaer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton Manor Rensselaer (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
Wyantskill (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
Wyantskill is located in Rensselaer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyantskill Albia (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
Albia is located in Rensselaer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albia Wynantskill (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
East Greenbush (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
Best (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
Best is located in Rensselaer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Best Luther (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
Luther is located in Rensselaer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luther West Sand Lake (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
Troy (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
Troy is located in Rensselaer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy Population from the 2020 Census: 48,804 people
Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Troy <1>
Albany County
The following are listed by their distance from Van Allen Park, with the one closest to Van Allen Park listed first.
Menands (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
Albany (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
Loudonville (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
West Albany (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
West Albany is located in Albany County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Albany Glenmont (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
Normansville (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
Normansville is located in Albany County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Normansville Watervliet (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
Watervliet is located in Albany County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watervliet Population from the 2020 Census: 9,807 people
Former names for Watervliet:
Gibbonsville Port Schuyler West Troy Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Watervliet <1>
Newtonville (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
Roessleville (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
Bethlehem Center (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
Bethlehem Center is located in Albany County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem Center Green Island (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
Delmar (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
Columbia County
The following are listed by their distance from Van Allen Park, with the one closest to Van Allen Park listed first.
North Chatham (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
North Chatham is located in Columbia County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Chatham Riders Mills (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
Riders Mills is located in Columbia County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riders Mills Niverville (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
Valatie (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
Chatham Center (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
Chatham Center is located in Columbia County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham Center New Britain ‑ Historic(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
New Britain is located in Columbia County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Britain Kinderhook (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
Rock City (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
Rock City is located in Columbia County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City New Concord (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
New Concord is located in Columbia County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Concord Chatham (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
Canaan (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
Canaan Center (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
Canaan Center is located in Columbia County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canaan Center Greene County
The following are listed by their distance from Van Allen Park, with the one closest to Van Allen Park listed first.
Medway (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
Medway is located in Greene County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medway Coxsackie (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
Surprise (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
Greenville (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
Norton Hill (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
Norton Hill is located in Greene County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norton Hill Gayhead (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
Gayhead is located in Greene County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gayhead Athens (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
Woodstock (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
Woodstock is located in Greene County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock Cairo (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
Oak Hill (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
Leeds (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
South Cairo (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
South Cairo is located in Greene County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Cairo Montgomery County
The following are listed by their distance from Van Allen Park, with the one closest to Van Allen Park listed first.
Cranesville (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
Burtonsville (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
Burtonsville is located in Montgomery County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burtonsville Saratoga County
The following are listed by their distance from Van Allen Park, with the one closest to Van Allen Park listed first.
Waterford (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
Halfmoon Beach (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
Halfmoon Beach is located in Saratoga County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halfmoon Beach Halfmoon (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
Clifton Park (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
Groom Corners (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
Groom Corners is located in Saratoga County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groom Corners Elnora (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
Elnora is located in Saratoga County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elnora Mechanicville (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
Coons (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
Coons is located in Saratoga County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coons Country Knolls (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
Country Knolls is located in Saratoga County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Knolls Jonesville (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
Jonesville is located in Saratoga County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesville Willow Glen (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
Willow Glen is located in Saratoga County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Glen Burnt Hills (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
Schenectady County
The following are listed by their distance from Van Allen Park, with the one closest to Van Allen Park listed first.
Niskayuna (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
Alplaus (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
Aqueduct (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
Aqueduct is located in Schenectady County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aqueduct Rotterdam (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
Schenectady (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
Scotia (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
East Glenville (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
East Glenville is located in Schenectady County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Glenville Stoodley Corners (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
Stoodley Corners is located in Schenectady County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoodley Corners Princetown (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
Princetown is located in Schenectady County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princetown Rynex Corners (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
Rynex Corners is located in Schenectady County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rynex Corners Duane Lake (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
Duane Lake is located in Schenectady County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duane Lake Duanesburg (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
Duanesburg is located in Schenectady County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duanesburg Schoharie County
The following are listed by their distance from Van Allen Park, with the one closest to Van Allen Park listed first.
Gallupville (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
Esperance (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
Livingstonville (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
Livingstonville is located in Schoharie County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livingstonville Schoharie (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
Washington County
The following are listed by their distance from Van Allen Park, with the one closest to Van Allen Park listed first.
Crandall Corners (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
Crandall Corners is located in Washington County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crandall Corners North Easton (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
North Easton is located in Washington County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Easton Center Cambridge (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
Center Cambridge is located in Washington County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Cambridge Center White Creek (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
Center White Creek is located in Washington County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center White Creek Fly Summit (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
Fly Summit is located in Washington County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fly Summit Archdale (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
Archdale is located in Washington County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Archdale Cambridge (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
Coila (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
Coila is located in Washington County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coila White Creek (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
Berkshire County (MA)
The following are listed by their distance from Van Allen Park, with the one closest to Van Allen Park listed first.
Hancock (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
Hancock is located in Berkshire County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancock Population from the 2020 Census: 695 people
New Ashford (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
New Ashford is located in Berkshire County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Ashford Population from the 2020 Census: 223 people
Shaker Village (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
Shaker Village is located in Berkshire County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village Williamstown (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
Williamstown is located in Berkshire County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown Population from the 2020 Census: 7,631 people
Lanesborough (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
Lanesborough is located in Berkshire County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanesborough Population from the 2020 Census: 2,925 people
Richmond (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
Richmond is located in Berkshire County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond Population from the 2020 Census: 1,410 people
Stevens Corner (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
Stevens Corner is located in Berkshire County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stevens Corner Berkshire (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
Berkshire is located in Berkshire County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkshire Farnams (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
Farnams is located in Berkshire County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farnams Pittsfield (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
Pittsfield is located in Berkshire County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsfield Population from the 2020 Census: 41,834 people
Cheshire (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
Cheshire is located in Berkshire County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheshire Population from the 2020 Census: 3,105 people
Coltsville (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
Coltsville is located in Berkshire County (MA) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coltsville Bennington County (VT)
The following are listed by their distance from Van Allen Park, with the one closest to Van Allen Park listed first.
Pownal Center (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
Pownal Center is located in Bennington County (VT) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pownal Center Pownal (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
Pownal is located in Bennington County (VT) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pownal Population from the 2020 Census: 3,386 people
Bennington (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
Bennington is located in Bennington County (VT) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennington Population from the 2020 Census: 14,897 people
Old Bennington (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
Old Bennington is located in Bennington County (VT) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Bennington Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
Paper Mill Village (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
Paper Mill Village is located in Bennington County (VT) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paper Mill Village Bennington (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
North Bennington (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
North Bennington is located in Bennington County (VT) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bennington Population from the 2020 Census: 1,694 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Van Allen Park, see our County-by-County Page for Van Allen Park .
Cemeteries Near Van Allen Park ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Van Allen Park.
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 Van Allen Park - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Van Allen Park covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Van Allen Park, with the one closest to Van Allen Park listed first.
Holy Sepulchre Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
Beverwyck Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the west)
Rensselaer Rural Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
Blooming Grove Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
Kenwood Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenwood Cemetery To give a relative sense of its location, the Kenwood Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Albany . The Kenwood Cemetery has also been known as:
Society of the Sacred Heart Cemetery Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2413911 <2>
Greenbush Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
St. Agnes Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Agnes Cemetery To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Agnes Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Albany . Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #65917 <2>
Albany Rural Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albany Rural Cemetery To give a relative sense of its location, the Albany Rural Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Albany . Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #63827 <2>
Albany Muslim Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
St. Nicholas Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
St. Joseph's Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Joseph's Cemetery To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Joseph's Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Troy . Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #66046 <2>
Graceland Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graceland Cemetery To give a relative sense of its location, the Graceland Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Albany . Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #64682 <2>
Continue List (515 more) ...
Beth Emeth Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beth Emeth Cemetery To give a relative sense of its location, the Beth Emeth Cemetery is located outside and to the south of Albany . The Beth Emeth Cemetery has also been known as:
Beth El Cemetery Beth Emmeth Cemetery Old Beth Cemetery Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #63965 <2>
Beth Emeth Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beth Emeth Cemetery To give a relative sense of its location, the Beth Emeth Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Albany . The Beth Emeth Cemetery has also been known as:
Anshe Emeth Cemetery Beth Emmeth Cemetery Congregation Beth Emeth Cemetery New Beth Cemetery Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #63966 <2>
Bethel Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
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>
While we didn't find Van Allen Park in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Van Allen Park.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Van Allen Park, with the one closest to Van Allen Park listed first.
Defreestville (Less than 2 miles to the east)
Defreestville is located in Rensselaer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Defreestville Couse (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
Couse is located in Rensselaer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Couse Albany (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
Normansville (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
Normansville is located in Albany County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Normansville Glenmont (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
Luther (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
Luther is located in Rensselaer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luther Best (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
Best is located in Rensselaer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Best Loudonville (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
West Albany (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
West Albany is located in Albany County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Albany Bethlehem Center (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
Bethlehem Center is located in Albany County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem Center West Sand Lake (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
Newtonville (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
Continue List (17 more) ...
Troy (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
Troy is located in Rensselaer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy Population from the 2020 Census: 48,804 people
Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Troy <1>
Watervliet (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
Watervliet is located in Albany County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watervliet Population from the 2020 Census: 9,807 people
Former names for Watervliet:
Gibbonsville Port Schuyler West Troy Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Watervliet <1>
Delmar (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Van Allen Park. See our List of 1890's Communities around Van Allen Park .
Newspapers Published in Van Allen Park ...
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 168 newspapers that have been published in the area around Van Allen Park.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Van Allen Park, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4> Extended Newspaper List for Van Allen Park.
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 Van Allen Park:
Websites specific to New York Pages specific to Rensselaer County Genealogy information for nearby counties
Albany County Columbia County Greene County Montgomery County Saratoga County Schenectady County Schoharie County Washington County Berkshire County Bennington County Cemetery Information and Directories for New York Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Van Allen Park. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page .
The official website for Rensselaer County: https://www.rensco.com/
The official website for State of New York: https://www.ny.gov/
Footnotes ...
<1> While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. 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 . 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 Van Allen Park, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. 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- Van Allen Park) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.