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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 Somerset (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 Somerset. 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 Somerset ...

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 Somerset: W. Somerset

You might be interested in other communities that are also named West Somerset. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for West Somerset.

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 doctors and hospitals 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 Somerset is located in Niagara 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 Niagara County: Erie, Genesee & Orleans.

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

  • Niagara County     (The home county of West Somerset)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Somerset, with the one closest to West Somerset listed first.
    • Barker
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Somerset
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Somerset is located in Niagara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerset
    • North Hartland
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • North Hartland is located in Niagara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hartland
    • Hess Road
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Hess Road is located in Niagara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hess Road
    • Ridgewood
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Olcott
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Millers
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Millers is located in Niagara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millers
    • Hartland
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Hartland is located in Niagara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
    • Corwin
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Corwin is located in Niagara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corwin
    • Newfane
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • County Line
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • County Line is located in Niagara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for County Line
    • Coomer
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Coomer is located in Niagara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coomer
  • Erie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Somerset, with the one closest to West Somerset listed first.
    • Wolcottsburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Wolcottsburg is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolcottsburg
    • Swormville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Swormville is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swormville
    • Akron
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Clarence Center
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Akron Junction
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Akron Junction is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akron Junction
    • Getzville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Amherst
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Harris Hill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Harris Hill is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Hill
    • Tonawanda
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Williamsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Bowmansville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Crittenden
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Genesee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Somerset, with the one closest to West Somerset listed first.
    • Alabama
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Alabama is located in Genesee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alabama
    • Basom
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Wheatville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Wheatville is located in Genesee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatville
    • Indian Falls
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Indian Falls is located in Genesee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Falls
    • Oakfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Amherst
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Amherst is located in Genesee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst
    • North Pembroke
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • North Pembroke is located in Genesee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Pembroke
    • Corfu
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Elba
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Elba is located in Genesee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elba
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 627 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elba <1>
    • Ridgewood Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Ridgewood Village is located in Genesee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgewood Village
    • Bushville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Bushville is located in Genesee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushville
    • Batavia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Orleans County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Somerset, with the one closest to West Somerset listed first.
    • Jeddo
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Jeddo is located in Orleans County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeddo
    • Lyndonville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Shadigee
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Shadigee is located in Orleans County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadigee
    • Lakewood Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Lakewood Village is located in Orleans County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood Village
    • Medina
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Kenyonville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Kenyonville is located in Orleans County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenyonville
    • Kuckville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Kuckville is located in Orleans County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kuckville
    • Eagle Harbor
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Eagle Harbor is located in Orleans County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Harbor
    • Gaines
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Gaines is located in Orleans County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaines
    • Albion
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • West Barre
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • West Barre is located in Orleans County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Barre
    • Kent
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near West Somerset ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Somerset.

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 Somerset - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • West Somerset Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • West Somerset Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Sawyer Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Quaker Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Quaker Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Somerset Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerset Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Somerset Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<2> to the east of Somerset.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2216038 <3>
  • Appleton Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Hess Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Smiths Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • West Lake Road Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Lakeview Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • St. Charles Borromeo Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (244 more) ...

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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, West Somerset had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • South Somerset
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • South Somerset is located in Niagara County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Somerset
  • Hess Road
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Hess Road is located in Niagara County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hess Road
  • North Hartland
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • North Hartland is located in Niagara County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hartland
  • Barker
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Somerset
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Somerset is located in Niagara County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerset
  • Olcott
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Newfane
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Hartland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Hartland is located in Niagara County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
  • Millers
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Millers is located in Niagara County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millers
  • Coomer
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Coomer is located in Niagara County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coomer
  • Johnson Creek
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Johnson Creek is located in Niagara County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson Creek
  • North Ridgeway
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • North Ridgeway is located in Orleans County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Ridgeway
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • County Line
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • County Line is located in Niagara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for County Line
    • Wrights Corners
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Wrights Corners is located in Niagara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrights Corners
    • Orangeport
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Orangeport is located in Niagara County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orangeport

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

Newspapers Published in West Somerset ...

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 135 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Somerset.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Somerset, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Somerset.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Somerset:

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>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 drawn from Point A (ie- West Somerset) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Somerset, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.