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 Lafayette (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 Lafayette. 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.
Lafayette is located in McKean County.
To see how the shape of Pennsylvania's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of McKean County: Allegany (NY), Cattaraugus (NY), Cameron, Elk, Forest, Potter & Warren.
Below are the counties that are near Lafayette. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Lafayette:
- McKean County (The home county of Lafayette)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lafayette, with the one closest to Lafayette listed first.
- Timbuck
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Timbuck is also located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timbuck
- Tallyho
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Tallyho is also located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallyho
- Big Shanty
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Big Shanty is also located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Shanty
- Westline
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Lewis Run
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Simpson
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Simpson is also located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
- Mount Jewett
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Custer City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Aiken
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Aiken is also located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aiken
- Freeman
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Freeman is also located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Allen
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Allen is also located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen
- Coontown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Coontown is also located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coontown
- Cameron County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lafayette, with the one closest to Lafayette listed first.
- Beechwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Beechwood is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechwood
- Emporium
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Weber City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Weber City is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weber City
- Elk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lafayette, with the one closest to Lafayette listed first.
- Instanter
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Instanter is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Instanter
- James City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Streights
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Streights is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Streights
- Wilcox
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- McKinley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- McKinley is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKinley
- Windy City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Windy City is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windy City
- Russell City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Russell City is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell City
- Johnsonburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Johnsonburg is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsonburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,264 people
- Whistletown
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Whistletown is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whistletown
- Ridgway
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Saint Marys
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Dagus Mines
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Dagus Mines is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dagus Mines
- Forest County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lafayette, with the one closest to Lafayette listed first.
- Sheffield Junction
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Sheffield Junction is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheffield Junction
- Iron City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Iron City is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Balltown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Balltown is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balltown
- Potter County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lafayette, with the one closest to Lafayette listed first.
- Williston
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Williston is located in Potter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williston
- Roulette
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Shinglehouse
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Millport
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Millport is located in Potter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millport
- East Sharon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- East Sharon is located in Potter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sharon
- Warren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lafayette, with the one closest to Lafayette listed first.
- Sugar Run ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sugar Run was located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Run
- Kinzua ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Kinzua was located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinzua
- Roystone
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Roystone is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roystone
- Big Bend
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Big Bend is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bend
- Barnes
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Barnes is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnes
- Donaldson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Donaldson is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
- Hoover
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Hoover is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoover
- Hemlock
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Hemlock is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemlock
- Saybrook
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Saybrook is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saybrook
- Sheffield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Henrys Mills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Henrys Mills is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrys Mills
- Clarendon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Allegany County (NY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lafayette, with the one closest to Lafayette listed first.
- Bowler
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bowler is located in Allegany County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowler
- Little Genesee
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cattaraugus County (NY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lafayette, with the one closest to Lafayette listed first.
- Limestone
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Harrisburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Harrisburg is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg
- New Ireland ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- New Ireland was located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Ireland
- New Ireland has also been known as:
- Irish Town
- Little Ireland
- Chipmunk
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Chipmunk is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chipmunk
- Rock City
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Rock City is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
- Four Mile
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Four Mile is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Mile
- Elko ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Elko was located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elko
- Elko has also been known as:
- Wolf Run
- Carrollton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Carrollton is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrollton
- Quaker Bridge ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Quaker Bridge was located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker Bridge
- Quaker Bridge has also been known as:
- Tunesassa
- Allegany
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cold Spring
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Cold Spring is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Spring
- Onoville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Onoville is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onoville
- Chautauqua County (NY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lafayette, with the one closest to Lafayette listed first.
- Ivory
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ivory is located in Chautauqua County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivory
- Frewsburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Kiantone
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Kiantone is located in Chautauqua County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiantone
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Lafayette, see our County-by-County Page for Lafayette.
Cemeteries Near Lafayette ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lafayette.
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 Lafayette - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Lafayette covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Lafayette, with the one closest to Lafayette listed first.
- McKean Memorial Park
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Bridge View Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Greendale Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- St. Bernards Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Willow Dale Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Lone Pine Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Pine Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Lone Pine Cemetery is located 8 miles [12.9 km]<3> to the northwest of Kane.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2198998 <2>
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Forest Lawn Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Tabor Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- St. Callistus Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Clermont Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- St. Elizabeths Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Continue List (89 more) ...
- Rose Hill Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Holy Cross Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Smith Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
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 Lafayette had a population of 160 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Lafayette, with the one closest to Lafayette listed first.
- Tallyho
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Tallyho is also located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallyho
- Guffey
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Guffey is also located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guffey
- Mount Alton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Mount Alton is also located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Alton
- Big Shanty
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Big Shanty is also located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Shanty
- Westline
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Kushequa
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Kushequa is also located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kushequa
- Mount Jewett
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Cyclone
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Cyclone is also located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cyclone
- Simpson
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Simpson is also located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
- Lewis Run
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Marshburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Marshburg is also located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshburg
- Gifford
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Gifford is also located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gifford
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Griffiths
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Griffiths is also located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffiths
- Freeman
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Freeman is also located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Ormsby
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Ormsby is also located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ormsby
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Lafayette. See our List of 1890's Communities around Lafayette.
Newspapers Published in Lafayette ...
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 76 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lafayette.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lafayette, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Lafayette.
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 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 Lafayette:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to McKean County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cameron County
- Elk County
- Forest County
- Potter County
- Warren County
- Allegany County
- Cattaraugus County
- Chautauqua County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Pennsylvania
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' (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- Lafayette) 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 Lafayette, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |