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 Fowler (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 Fowler. 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 Fowler ...
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 Fowler: W. Fowler
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 northwest 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 north.
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 north 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 Fowler is located in Saint Lawrence 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 Saint Lawrence County: Franklin, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson & Lewis.
Below are the counties that are near West Fowler. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Fowler:
- Saint Lawrence County (The home county of West Fowler)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Fowler, with the one closest to West Fowler listed first.
- Gouverneur
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Somerville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Somerville is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerville
- Talcville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Talcville is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talcville
- Elmdale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Elmdale is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmdale
- Wegatchie
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Wegatchie is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wegatchie
- Richville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Edwards
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Edwards is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards
- Estimated population in 2012: 433 people
- South Edwards
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- South Edwards is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Edwards
- Jayville ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Jayville is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jayville
- De Kalb
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- De Kalb is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Kalb
- Pope Mills
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pope Mills is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pope Mills
- Hammond
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Fowler, with the one closest to West Fowler listed first.
- Oxbow
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Antwerp
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Natural Bridge
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Philadelphia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Sterlingville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sterlingville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterlingville
- Redwood
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Theresa
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Theresa is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Theresa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 766 people
- Deferiet
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Herrings
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Herrings is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrings
- Estimated population in 2017: 90 people
- Carthage
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Great Bend
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Browns Corners
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Browns Corners is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Corners
- Lewis County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Fowler, with the one closest to West Fowler listed first.
- Lake Bonaparte
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Lake Bonaparte is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Bonaparte
- Harrisville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Jerden Falls
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Jerden Falls is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerden Falls
- Indian River
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Indian River is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian River
- Forest City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Forest City is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
- Belfort
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Belfort is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belfort
- Croghan
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Naumburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Naumburg is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naumburg
- Castorland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Denmark
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Denmark is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
- Briggs Corner
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Briggs Corner is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briggs Corner
- Copenhagen
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Fowler, see our County-by-County Page for West Fowler.
Cemeteries Near West Fowler ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Fowler.
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 Fowler - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Fowler covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Fowler, with the one closest to West Fowler listed first.
- West Fowler Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- St. James Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Hailesboro Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Gulf Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- St. James Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Riverside Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Hillside Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Garrison Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Pine Hill Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hillside Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Harrisville Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- St. Francis Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (142 more) ...
- Fairview Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Riverside Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Wayside Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
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 West Fowler in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Fowler.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Fowler, with the one closest to West Fowler listed first.
- Hailesboro
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Fowler
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Fowler is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowler
- Gouverneur
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Spragueville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Spragueville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spragueville
- Natural Dam
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Natural Dam is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natural Dam
- Somerville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Somerville is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerville
- Talcville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Talcville is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talcville
- Elmdale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Elmdale is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmdale
- Wegatchie
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Wegatchie is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wegatchie
- Oxbow
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Antwerp
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lake Bonaparte
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Lake Bonaparte is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Bonaparte
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Harrisville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Pitcairn
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Pitcairn is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pitcairn
- Edwards
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Edwards is located in Saint Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards
- Estimated population in 2012: 433 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Fowler. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Fowler.
Newspapers Published in West Fowler ...
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 61 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Fowler.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Fowler, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Fowler.
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 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 Fowler:
- Websites specific to New York
- Pages specific to Saint Lawrence County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Jefferson County
- Lewis 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 Fowler, 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 Fowler) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |