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 Sylvester (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 Sylvester. 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 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 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.
Sylvester is located in Tioga 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 Tioga County: Chemung (NY), Steuben (NY), Bradford, Lycoming & Potter.
Below are the counties that are near Sylvester. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sylvester:
- Tioga County (The home county of Sylvester)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sylvester, with the one closest to Sylvester listed first.
- Austinburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Austinburg is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austinburg
- Westfield
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Cowanesque
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Cowanesque is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowanesque
- Potter Brook
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Potter Brook is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potter Brook
- Knoxville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Osceola
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Osceola is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola
- Gurnee
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Gurnee is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gurnee
- Elkland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Manhattan
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Manhattan is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manhattan
- Keeneyville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Keeneyville is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keeneyville
- Asaph
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Asaph is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asaph
- Marsh Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Marsh Creek is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsh Creek
- Potter County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sylvester, with the one closest to Sylvester listed first.
- North Fork
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- North Fork is located in Potter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Fork
- Elmer
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Elmer is located in Potter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmer
- Harrison Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Harrison Valley is located in Potter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison Valley
- Hector
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hector is located in Potter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hector
- Sunderlinville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Sunderlinville is located in Potter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunderlinville
- North Bingham
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- North Bingham is located in Potter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bingham
- Ulysses
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- West Bingham
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- West Bingham is located in Potter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Bingham
- Newfield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Newfield is located in Potter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newfield
- Brookland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Brookland is located in Potter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookland
- Gold
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Gold is located in Potter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold
- Genesee
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Genesee is located in Potter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genesee
- Allegany County (NY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sylvester, with the one closest to Sylvester listed first.
- Whitesville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Independence
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Independence is located in Allegany County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
- Paynesville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Paynesville is located in Allegany County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
- Hallsport
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hallsport is located in Allegany County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallsport
- Andover
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Elm Valley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Elm Valley is located in Allegany County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Valley
- Stannards
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Stannards is located in Allegany County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stannards
- Dyke
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Dyke is located in Allegany County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dyke
- Wellsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Alfred
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Alfred is located in Allegany County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alfred
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,919 people
- Alfred has also been known as:
- Alfred village
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alfred <1>
- Alma
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Alma is located in Allegany County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
- Petrolia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Petrolia is located in Allegany County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petrolia
- Steuben County (NY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sylvester, with the one closest to Sylvester listed first.
- South Troupsburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- South Troupsburg is located in Steuben County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Troupsburg
- Troupsburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Rexville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Jasper
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Woodhull
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Greenwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Hedgesville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hedgesville is located in Steuben County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hedgesville
- Van Vleet
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Van Vleet is located in Steuben County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Vleet
- South Canisteo
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- South Canisteo is located in Steuben County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Canisteo
- Rathbone
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rathbone is located in Steuben County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rathbone
- Cameron Mills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cameron
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sylvester, see our County-by-County Page for Sylvester.
Cemeteries Near Sylvester ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sylvester.
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 Sylvester - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sylvester covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sylvester, with the one closest to Sylvester listed first.
- Plank Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Clark Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Potter Street Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Krusen Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Champlin Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Murdock Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Card Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Riverview Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Rogers Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Kelly Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (253 more) ...
- Young Hickory Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Swimley Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Riverside Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Sylvester had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sylvester, with the one closest to Sylvester listed first.
- Brookfield
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Brookfield is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield
- Westfield
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Cowanesque
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Cowanesque is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowanesque
- Austinburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Austinburg is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austinburg
- North Fork
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- North Fork is located in Potter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Fork
- Harrison Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Harrison Valley is located in Potter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison Valley
- Elmer
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Elmer is located in Potter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmer
- Potter Brook
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Potter Brook is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potter Brook
- South Troupsburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- South Troupsburg is located in Steuben County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Troupsburg
- Troupsburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Mills is located in Potter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mills
- Sabinsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Sabinsville is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sabinsville
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Young Hickory
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Young Hickory is located in Steuben County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Young Hickory
- Knoxville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Hector
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hector is located in Potter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hector
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sylvester. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sylvester.
Newspapers Published in Sylvester ...
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 96 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sylvester.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sylvester, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sylvester.
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 Sylvester:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Tioga County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Potter County
- Allegany County
- Steuben 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> | 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 Sylvester, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Sylvester) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |