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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 Cortez (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 Cortez. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.

Cortez is located in Lackawanna County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Lackawanna County: Luzerne, Monroe, Susquehanna, Wayne & Wyoming.

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

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

Cemeteries Near Cortez ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cortez.

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 Cortez covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • South Canaan Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the South Canaan Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the South Canaan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • All Saints Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the All Saints Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the All Saints Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Tisdale Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tisdale Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tisdale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • East Canaan Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East Canaan Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the East Canaan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hollisterville Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hollisterville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hollisterville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Salem Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Salem Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Salem Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Michaels Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Michaels Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Michaels Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Holy Ghost Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Ghost Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holy Ghost Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Childs Jewish Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Prospect Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Prospect Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Prospect Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Rose Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (211 more) ...
    • Brookside Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brookside Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brookside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Old Canaan Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Canaan Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Canaan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Mt. Carmel Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Carmel Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Carmel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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 Cortez in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Cortez.

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

  • Maplewood
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Lake Ariel
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Ariel have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ariel
    • Lake Ariel is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake Ariel <3>
  • Varden
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Varden have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varden
    • Varden is located in Wayne County
  • South Canaan
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Mount Cobb
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Cobb have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Cobb
    • Mount Cobb is located in Lackawanna County
  • Wimmers
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Drinker
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Drinker. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drinker
    • Drinker is located in Lackawanna County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Drinker
    • From Cortez to Drinker
  • Gravity
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gravity have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravity
    • Gravity is located in Wayne County
  • Winton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winton
    • Winton is located in Lackawanna County
  • Hollisterville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Archbald
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Archbald have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Archbald
    • Archbald is located in Lackawanna County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,055 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Archbald <3>
  • Avoy
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Avoy have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoy
    • Avoy is located in Wayne County
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Pink
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pink have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pink
      • Pink is located in Wayne County
    • Mayfield
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mayfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfield
      • Mayfield is located in Lackawanna County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,685 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mayfield <3>
    • Jermyn
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jermyn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jermyn
      • Jermyn is located in Lackawanna County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,037 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jermyn <3>

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

Newspapers Published in Cortez ...

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 44 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cortez.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Cortez, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Cortez.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Cortez:

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

The official website for Lackawanna County: www.lackawannacounty.org/

The official website for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Cortez, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Cortez) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Cortez. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.4651, Longitude: -75.4573    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025