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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 Willoughby (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 Willoughby. 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.

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 northeast 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 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 east 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.

Willoughby is located in Cattaraugus 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 Cattaraugus County: Allegany, Chautauqua, Erie, Wyoming, McKean (PA) & Warren (PA).

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

  • Cattaraugus County     (The home county of Willoughby)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willoughby, with the one closest to Willoughby listed first.
    • Great Valley
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Sugartown
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Sugartown is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugartown
    • Peth
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Peth is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peth
    • Humphrey
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Humphrey is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Humphrey
    • Kill Buck
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Little Rock City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Little Rock City is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Rock City
    • Ellicottville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Carrollton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Carrollton is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrollton
    • Salamanca
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Elkdale
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Elkdale is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkdale
    • Allegany
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Chipmunk
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Chipmunk is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chipmunk
  • Allegany County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willoughby, with the one closest to Willoughby listed first.
    • Cuba
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Cuba is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,460 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cuba <1>
    • Lyons Corners
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Lyons Corners is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons Corners
    • West Clarksville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • West Clarksville is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Clarksville
    • Black Creek
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Fairview
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Fairview is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
    • Rushford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Bowler
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Bowler is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowler
    • Little Genesee
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Bolivar
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Friendship
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Richburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Kossuth
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Kossuth is located in Allegany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kossuth
  • Chautauqua County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willoughby, with the one closest to Willoughby listed first.
    • Kennedy
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Cherry Creek
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Ivory
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Ivory is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivory
    • Poland Center
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Poland Center is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poland Center
    • Wango
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Wango is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wango
    • Frewsburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Parcells Corners
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Parcells Corners is located in Chautauqua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parcells Corners
    • Falconer
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Erie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willoughby, with the one closest to Willoughby listed first.
    • Springville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Morton Corners
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Morton Corners is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morton Corners
    • Concord
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Concord is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
    • Wyandale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Wyandale is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyandale
    • Footes
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Footes is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Footes
    • Protection
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Protection is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Protection
    • Dutchtown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Dutchtown is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutchtown
    • Boston
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Holland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Shirley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Shirley is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shirley
  • Wyoming County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willoughby, with the one closest to Willoughby listed first.
    • Arcade
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Curriers
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Curriers is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curriers
  • McKean County (PA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willoughby, with the one closest to Willoughby listed first.
    • Tuna
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Tuna is located in McKean County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuna
    • Derrick City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Foster Brook
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Foster Brook is located in McKean County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Brook
    • Gilmore
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Gilmore is located in McKean County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore
    • Bradford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Sawyer City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Sawyer City is located in McKean County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawyer City
    • Dallas City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Dallas City is located in McKean County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas City
    • Duke Center
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Duke Center is located in McKean County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duke Center
    • Summit
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Summit is located in McKean County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
    • Degolia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Degolia is located in McKean County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Degolia
    • Rixford
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Rixford is located in McKean County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rixford
    • Custer City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
  • Potter County (PA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willoughby, with the one closest to Willoughby listed first.
    • Shinglehouse
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • East Sharon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • East Sharon is located in Potter County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sharon
    • Honeoye
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Honeoye is located in Potter County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honeoye
  • Warren County (PA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willoughby, with the one closest to Willoughby listed first.
    • Sugar Run ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Sugar Run is located in Warren County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Run
    • Kinzua ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Kinzua is located in Warren County (PA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinzua

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

Cemeteries Near Willoughby ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Willoughby.

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

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

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

  • Willoughby Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Chamberlain Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Sugartown Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugartown Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Sugartown Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the northeast of Great Valley.
    • The Sugartown Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Bethany Union Burying Ground
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2256538 <2>
  • Green Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Humphrey Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • St. Pacificus Catholic Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Ellicott Street Catholic Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Kill Buck Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Cole Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Wildwood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Fivemile Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (206 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>

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

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

  • Great Valley
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Humphrey
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Humphrey is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Humphrey
  • Kill Buck
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Humphrey Center
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Humphrey Center is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Humphrey Center
  • Salamanca
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Carrollton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Carrollton is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrollton
  • Ellicottville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • South Carrollton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • South Carrollton is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Carrollton
  • Vandalia
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Vandalia is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandalia
  • Elkdale
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Elkdale is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkdale
  • South Vandalia
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • South Vandalia is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Vandalia
  • Ashford
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Ashford is located in Cattaraugus County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashford
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Shongo
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Shongo is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shongo
    • Irvine Mills
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Irvine Mills is located in Cattaraugus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvine Mills
    • Allegany
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Willoughby ...

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 59 newspapers that have been published in the area around Willoughby.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Willoughby, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Willoughby.

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 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 Willoughby:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Willoughby) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Willoughby, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.