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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 Watkins Glen (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 Watkins Glen. 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 Watkins Glen ...

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.

Over the years, Watkins Glen had several name changes:

  • Prior to its current name of Watkins Glen, it was known as Watkins.
  • Before changing to Watkins, it was named Jefferson.
  • Watkins Glen was originally named Salubria

  • A typical abbreviation for Watkins Glen: Watkins Gln.
  • While the name of this village is Watkins Glen, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Watkins Glen may originally have been Watkin's Glen.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Watkins Glen might be written as Watkin Glen.

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.

A Few Details for Watkins Glen ...

While it's still very early in our research, we found that:

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.

Watkins Glen is located in Schuyler County and is the County Seat.

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 Schuyler County: Chemung, Seneca, Steuben, Tompkins & Yates.

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

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

Cemeteries Near Watkins Glen ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Watkins Glen.

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 Watkins Glen covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenwood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • County Line Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the County Line Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the County Line Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Burdett Presbyterian Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Burdett Presbyterian Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Burdett Presbyterian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cook Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Union Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Union Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Townsend Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Townsend Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Townsend Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bennetsburg Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bennetsburg Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bennetsburg Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Old Reading Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Reading Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Reading Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pleasant View Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant View Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sugar Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sugar Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sugar Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (391 more) ...
    • Coe Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Coe Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Coe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Highland Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Highland Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Highland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Old Sugar Hill Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Sugar Hill Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Sugar Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Watkins Glen had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Watkins Glen had a population of 1,851 people.

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

  • Wedgewood
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wedgewood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wedgewood
    • Wedgewood is located in Schuyler County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Wedgewood
    • From Watkins Glen to Wedgewood
  • Burdett
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burdett have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burdett
    • Burdett is located in Schuyler County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 311 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Burdett <3>
  • Townsend
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Townsend. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Townsend
    • Townsend is located in Schuyler County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Townsend
    • From Watkins Glen to Townsend
  • Bennettsburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Reading Center
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Moreland
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Odessa
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Catharine
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Catharine have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catharine
    • Catharine is located in Schuyler County
  • Rock Stream
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Stream have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Stream
    • Rock Stream is located in Yates County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rock Stream <3>
  • Beaver Dams
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Smith Valley
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Smith Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Valley
    • Smith Valley is located in Schuyler County
  • Reynoldsville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reynoldsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsville
    • Reynoldsville is located in Schuyler County
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Logan
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • North Reading
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Glenora
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Glenora. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenora
      • Glenora is located in Yates County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Glenora
      • From Watkins Glen to Glenora

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Watkins Glen ...

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 103 newspapers that have been published in the area around Watkins Glen.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Watkins Glen. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Watkins Glen and those printed in the larger area surrounding Watkins Glen.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<7> of Watkins Glen.

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 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 Watkins Glen:

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

The official website for Schuyler County: www.lightlink.com/schco/

The official website for State of New York: https://www.ny.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>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.
<6>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 Watkins Glen, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<7>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 from Point A (ie- Watkins Glen) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Watkins Glen. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.3806, Longitude: -76.8735    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025