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 Branch (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 Branch. 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 Branch ...
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 West Branch: W. Branch
You might be interested in other communities that are also named West Branch. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for West Branch.
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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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 Branch is located in Oneida 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 Oneida County: Herkimer, Lewis, Madison, Oswego & Otsego.
Below are the counties that are near West Branch. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Branch:
- Oneida County (The home county of West Branch)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Branch, with the one closest to West Branch listed first.
- Ava
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Point Rock
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Point Rock is located in Oneida County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Rock
- Westernville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Brookfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Brookfield is located in Oneida County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield
- Redmond Corner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Redmond Corner is located in Oneida County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redmond Corner
- Frenchville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Frenchville is located in Oneida County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchville
- Coonrod
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Coonrod is located in Oneida County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coonrod
- Leisure Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Leisure Village is located in Oneida County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure Village
- Taberg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Boonville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Air City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Air City is located in Oneida County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Air City
- Blossvale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Herkimer County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Branch, with the one closest to West Branch listed first.
- Northwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Northwood is located in Herkimer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwood
- Grant
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Grant is located in Herkimer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant
- Russia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Russia is located in Herkimer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russia
- Poland
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Cold Brook
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Newport
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Gray
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Gray is located in Herkimer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gray
- Norway
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Norway is located in Herkimer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norway
- Norwich Corners
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Norwich Corners is located in Herkimer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwich Corners
- Old City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Old City is located in Herkimer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old City
- Frankfort
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Middleville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lewis County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Branch, with the one closest to West Branch listed first.
- West Leyden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Mohawk Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Mohawk Hill is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mohawk Hill
- Leisher Mill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Leisher Mill is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisher Mill
- Constableville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Osceola
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Osceola is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola
- Michigan Mills
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Michigan Mills is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michigan Mills
- Port Leyden
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Collinsville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Collinsville is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collinsville
- Lyons Falls
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Turin
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Lyonsdale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Lyonsdale is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyonsdale
- Greig
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Branch, with the one closest to West Branch listed first.
- Oneida Valley
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Oneida Valley is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oneida Valley
- Oneida
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Kenwood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Kenwood is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenwood
- Whitelaw
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Whitelaw is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitelaw
- Wampsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Canastota
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Valley Mills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Valley Mills is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Mills
- Clockville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Munns
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Munns is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munns
- Munnsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Siloam
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Siloam is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam
- Cottons
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cottons is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottons
- Onondaga County
- Tall Pines Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Tall Pines Village is located in Onondaga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tall Pines Village
- Oswego County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Branch, with the one closest to West Branch listed first.
- Redfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cleveland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Kasoag
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Kasoag is located in Oswego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kasoag
- Nicholsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Nicholsville is located in Oswego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicholsville
- West Amboy
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- West Amboy is located in Oswego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Amboy
- Chateaugay
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Chateaugay is located in Oswego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chateaugay
- Altmar
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Constantia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Gayville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Gayville is located in Oswego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gayville
- Orwell
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Albion Center
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Albion Center is located in Oswego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion Center
- Dugway
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Dugway is located in Oswego County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dugway
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Branch, see our County-by-County Page for West Branch.
Cemeteries Near West Branch ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Branch.
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 West Branch - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Branch covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Branch, with the one closest to West Branch listed first.
- Smith Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Welsh Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Ava Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Rogers Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Thorton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Eames Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Delta Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Lee Valley Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Frenchville Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- St. Anns Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Continue List (263 more) ...
- Whiffin Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Maple Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Polish Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that West Branch had a population of 156 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Branch, with the one closest to West Branch listed first.
- Ava
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Point Rock
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Point Rock is located in Oneida County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Rock
- Lee Center
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Dunn Brook
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Dunn Brook is located in Oneida County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunn Brook
- Westernville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- North Western
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- North Western is located in Oneida County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Western
- West Leyden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Glenmore
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Glenmore is located in Oneida County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenmore
- Lee
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lee is located in Oneida County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee
- Taberg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Coonrod
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Coonrod is located in Oneida County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coonrod
- Big Brook
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Big Brook is located in Oneida County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Brook
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Ridge Mills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Ridge Mills is located in Oneida County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge Mills
- Blossvale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Humaston
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Humaston is located in Oneida County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Humaston
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Branch. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Branch.
Newspapers Published in West Branch ...
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 57 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Branch.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Branch, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Branch.
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 West Branch:
- Websites specific to New York
- Pages specific to Oneida County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Herkimer County
- Lewis County
- Madison County
- Onondaga County
- Oswego County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for New York
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 West Branch, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- West Branch) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |