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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 West Bay Shore (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 West Bay Shore. 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 West Bay Shore ...

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.

Another variation: West Bayshore.

  • A typical abbreviation for West Bay Shore: W. Bay Shr.

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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.

West Bay Shore is located in Suffolk County.

To see how the shape of New York's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

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

  • Suffolk County     (The home county of West Bay Shore)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Bay Shore, with the one closest to West Bay Shore listed first.
    • Brightwaters
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brightwaters have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brightwaters
      • Brightwaters is located in Suffolk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,050 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brightwaters <2>
    • West Islip
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Islip
      • West Islip is located in Suffolk County
    • Baywood
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Baywood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baywood
      • Baywood is located in Suffolk County
    • Bay Shore
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • North Bay Shore
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Bay Shore have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bay Shore
      • North Bay Shore is located in Suffolk County
    • Babylon
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • North Babylon
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Babylon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Babylon
      • North Babylon is located in Suffolk County
    • Islip
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • West Babylon
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Babylon
      • West Babylon is located in Suffolk County
    • East Islip
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Islip
      • East Islip is located in Suffolk County
    • Deer Park
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deer Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Park
      • Deer Park is located in Suffolk County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Deer Park <2>
    • Gilgo - Oak Beach - Captree
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Bronx County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Bay Shore, with the one closest to West Bay Shore listed first.
    • Locust Point
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Point
      • Locust Point is located in Bronx County
    • Throgs Neck
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Throgs Neck
      • Throgs Neck is located in Bronx County
  • Nassau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Bay Shore, with the one closest to West Bay Shore listed first.
    • East Massapequa
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Massapequa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Massapequa
      • East Massapequa is located in Nassau County
    • Farmingdale
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • South Farmingdale
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Farmingdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Farmingdale
      • South Farmingdale is located in Nassau County
    • Massapequa Park
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Massapequa Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massapequa Park
      • Massapequa Park is located in Nassau County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,034 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Massapequa Park <2>
    • North Massapequa
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Massapequa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Massapequa
      • North Massapequa is located in Nassau County
    • Old Bethpage
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Bethpage have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Bethpage
      • Old Bethpage is located in Nassau County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Old Bethpage <2>
    • Plainview
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plainview have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainview
      • Plainview is located in Nassau County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plainview <2>
    • Bethpage
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Biltmore Shores
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biltmore Shores
      • Biltmore Shores is located in Nassau County
    • Harbor Green
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbor Green
      • Harbor Green is located in Nassau County
    • Massapequa
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Plainedge
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainedge
      • Plainedge is located in Nassau County
  • Queens County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Bay Shore, with the one closest to West Bay Shore listed first.
    • Little Neck
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Douglaston
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Douglaston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglaston
      • Douglaston is located in Queens County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Douglaston <2>
    • Queens Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Bayside
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Far Rockaway
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Hollis
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hollis have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis
      • Hollis is located in Queens County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hollis <2>
    • Rochdale Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rochdale Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochdale Village
      • Rochdale Village is located in Queens County
    • Bayswater
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayswater
      • Bayswater is located in Queens County
    • Jamaica
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Queens
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Beechhurst
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechhurst
      • Beechhurst is located in Queens County
    • Kew Gardens
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Westchester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Bay Shore, with the one closest to West Bay Shore listed first.
    • Milton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton
      • Milton is located in Westchester County
    • Larchmont
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Mamaroneck
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Port Chester
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Rye
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rye
      • Rye is located in Westchester County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,634 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rye <2>
    • New Rochelle
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Pelham Manor
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Pelham
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
      • Pelham is located in Westchester County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,917 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pelham <2>
    • Rye Brook
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rye Brook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rye Brook
      • Rye Brook is located in Westchester County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,573 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rye Brook <2>
  • Fairfield County (CT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Bay Shore, with the one closest to West Bay Shore listed first.
    • Darien
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Darien have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darien
      • Darien is located in Fairfield County (CT)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,693 people
    • Shippan Point
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shippan Point
      • Shippan Point is located in Fairfield County (CT)
    • Rowayton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rowayton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowayton
      • Rowayton is located in Fairfield County (CT)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rowayton <2>
    • Noroton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noroton
      • Noroton is located in Fairfield County (CT)
    • Old Greenwich
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Darien
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Norwalk
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norwalk have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwalk
      • Norwalk is located in Fairfield County (CT)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 88,655 people
    • South Norwalk
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Norwalk
      • South Norwalk is located in Fairfield County (CT)
    • Belle Haven
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Haven
      • Belle Haven is located in Fairfield County (CT)
    • Glenbrook
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenbrook
      • Glenbrook is located in Fairfield County (CT)
    • Noroton Heights
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noroton Heights
      • Noroton Heights is located in Fairfield County (CT)
    • Stamford
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stamford
      • Stamford is located in Fairfield County (CT)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 131,397 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stamford <2>

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

Newspapers Published in West Bay Shore ...

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 229 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Bay Shore.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Bay Shore, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Bay Shore.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 West Bay Shore:

Cemeteries Near West Bay Shore ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Bay Shore.

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 West Bay Shore covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Oakwood Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oakwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oakwood Cemetery
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Josephs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Josephs Cemetery
  • Babylon Rural Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Babylon Rural Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Babylon.
    • The Babylon Rural Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Babylon Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Babylon Rural Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1032904 <4>
  • St. Patricks Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Patricks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Patricks Cemetery
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Breslau Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Breslau Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Breslau Cemetery
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Catholic Cemetery
  • Brentwood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brentwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brentwood Cemetery
  • Beth Moses Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Wellwood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • St. John's Catholic Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. John's Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. John's Catholic Cemetery
  • New Montefiore Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (261 more) ...
    • Old Central Islip Psychiatric Center Patient Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Pilgrim State Psychiatric Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pilgrim State Psychiatric Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pilgrim State Psychiatric Cemetery
    • Long Island National Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 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.<5>

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

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

  • Babylon
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Bay Shore
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Islip
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Deer Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deer Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Park
    • Deer Park is located in Suffolk County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Deer Park <2>
  • Lindenhurst
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Brentwood
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Wyandanch
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Great River
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Great River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great River
    • Great River is located in Suffolk County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Great River <2>
  • Amityville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Central Islip
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Fire Island
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fire Island have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fire Island
    • Fire Island is located in Suffolk County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fire Island <2>
  • Elwood
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elwood
    • Elwood is located in Suffolk County
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • West Sayville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Sayville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Sayville
      • West Sayville is located in Suffolk County
    • Bohemia
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Hauppauge
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hauppauge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hauppauge
      • Hauppauge is located in Suffolk County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hauppauge <2>

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

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

The official website for Suffolk County: www.co.suffolk.ny.us/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- West Bay Shore) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Bay Shore. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.7087, Longitude: -73.2812       In this case, the coordinates for West Bay Shore have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>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.
<5>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 West Bay Shore, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024