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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 Watertown Center (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 Watertown Center. 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 Watertown Center ...

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 occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Watertown Center: Watertown Ctr. (or less commonly used: Watertown Cen., Watertown Cent. or Watertown Cntr.)

You might see Watertown Centre instead of Watertown Center.

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.

For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.

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 and hospitals 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.

Watertown Center is located in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County: Lewis, Oswego & Saint Lawrence.

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

  • Jefferson County     (The home county of Watertown Center)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Watertown Center, with the one closest to Watertown Center listed first.
    • Watertown
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Glen Park
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Glen Park is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Park
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 462 people
    • Brownville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Paddy Hill
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Paddy Hill is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paddy Hill
    • East Rodman
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • East Rodman is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Rodman
    • Alverson
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Alverson is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alverson
    • Calcium
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Black River
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Dexter
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Adams Center
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Limerick
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Adams
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Adams is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,687 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Adams <1>
    • Boultons Beach
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Boultons Beach is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boultons Beach
  • Lewis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Watertown Center, with the one closest to Watertown Center listed first.
    • Barnes Corners
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Barnes Corners is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnes Corners
    • Copenhagen
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • New Boston
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • New Boston is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Boston
    • Denmark
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Denmark is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
    • Harrisburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Harrisburg is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg
    • Rector
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Rector is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rector
    • Parkers
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Parkers is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkers
    • Briggs Corner
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Briggs Corner is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briggs Corner
    • Castorland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Naumburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Naumburg is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naumburg
    • Forest City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Forest City is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
    • Lowville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • West Martinsburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • West Martinsburg is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Martinsburg
  • Oswego County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Watertown Center, with the one closest to Watertown Center listed first.
    • Smartville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Smartville is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smartville
    • Lacona
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Sandy Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Chateaugay
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Chateaugay is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chateaugay
    • Orwell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Richland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Pulaski
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Redfield
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Altmar
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Daysville Corner
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Daysville Corner is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daysville Corner
  • Saint Lawrence County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Watertown Center, with the one closest to Watertown Center listed first.
    • Somerville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Somerville is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerville
    • Wegatchie
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Wegatchie is located in Saint Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wegatchie

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

Cemeteries Near Watertown Center ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Watertown Center.

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 Watertown Center - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Degel Israel Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Brookside Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Glenwood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Glenwood Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Watertown.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #64662 <2>
  • Arsenal Street Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Graves Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • North Watertown Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Fields Settlement Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Underwood Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Sandy Lawn Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Zoar Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Pettit Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (152 more) ...
    • Maple Hill Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Brownville Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Muskalonge Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)

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 Watertown Center in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Watertown Center.

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

  • Watertown
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Rices
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Rices is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rices
  • East Watertown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • East Watertown is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Watertown
  • East Hounsfield
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • East Hounsfield is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Hounsfield
  • East Rodman
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • East Rodman is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Rodman
  • Brownville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Alverson
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Alverson is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alverson
  • Rodman
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Adams Center
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Black River
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Dexter
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Limerick
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Barnes Corners
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Barnes Corners is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnes Corners
    • Felts Mills
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Smithville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Smithville is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithville

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

Newspapers Published in Watertown Center ...

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 154 newspapers that have been published in the area around Watertown Center.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Watertown Center, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Watertown Center.

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 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 Watertown Center:

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 Watertown Center, 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' (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- Watertown Center) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.