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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 Wrights Corners (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 Wrights Corners. 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 Wrights Corners ...

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 have occurred.

  • A typical abbreviation for Wrights Corners: Wrights Cors.
  • While the name of this community is Wrights Corners, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Wrights Corners may originally have been Wright's Corners.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Wrights Corners might be written as Wright Corners.

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.

Wrights Corners is located in McKean 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 McKean County: Allegany (NY), Cattaraugus (NY), Cameron, Elk, Forest, Potter & Warren.

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

  • McKean County     (The home county of Wrights Corners)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wrights Corners, with the one closest to Wrights Corners listed first.
    • Rixford
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Rew
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Duke Center
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Summit
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Aiken
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Aiken. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aiken
      • Aiken is located in McKean County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Aiken
      • From Wrights Corners to Aiken
    • Allen
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Allen have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen
      • Allen is located in McKean County
    • Dallas City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Smethport
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Smethport have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smethport
      • Smethport is located in McKean County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,518 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Smethport <4>
    • Sawyer City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sawyer City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawyer City
      • Sawyer City is located in McKean County
    • Eldred
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Derrick City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Big Shanty
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Custer City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Custer City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Custer City
      • Custer City is located in McKean County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Custer City <4>
  • Cameron County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wrights Corners, with the one closest to Wrights Corners listed first.
    • Beechwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Emporium
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emporium have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emporium
      • Emporium is located in Cameron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,770 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Emporium <4>
    • Weber City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weber City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weber City
      • Weber City is located in Cameron County
  • Elk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wrights Corners, with the one closest to Wrights Corners listed first.
    • Instanter
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Instanter have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Instanter
      • Instanter is located in Elk County
    • Streights
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Wilcox
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • James City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for James City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James City
      • James City is located in Elk County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for James City <4>
    • Windy City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Windy City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windy City
      • Windy City is located in Elk County
    • Johnsonburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Russell City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Russell City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell City
      • Russell City is located in Elk County
  • Potter County
  • Warren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wrights Corners, with the one closest to Wrights Corners listed first.
    • Kinzua ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Big Bend
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Big Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bend
      • Big Bend is located in Warren County
    • Roystone
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Hemlock
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Barnes
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Barnes. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnes
      • Barnes is located in Warren County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Barnes
      • From Wrights Corners to Barnes
    • Donaldson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Sheffield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Saybrook
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Allegany County (NY)
  • Cattaraugus County (NY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wrights Corners, with the one closest to Wrights Corners listed first.
    • Four Mile
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Four Mile. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Mile
      • Four Mile is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Four Mile
      • From Wrights Corners to Four Mile
    • Rock City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
      • Rock City is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
    • Chipmunk
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chipmunk. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chipmunk
      • Chipmunk is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Chipmunk
      • From Wrights Corners to Chipmunk
    • Limestone
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Olean
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Saint Bonaventure
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Bonaventure have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Bonaventure
      • Saint Bonaventure is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Bonaventure <4>
    • Portville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Portville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portville
      • Portville is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 941 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Portville <4>
    • Allegany
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Allegany have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allegany
      • Allegany is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,685 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Allegany <4>
    • Weston Mills
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • New Ireland ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for New Ireland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Ireland
      • New Ireland is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
      • New Ireland has also been known as:
      • Irish Town
      • Little Ireland
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to New Ireland
      • From Wrights Corners to New Ireland
    • Carrollton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Kill Buck
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Elko ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elko. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elko
      • Elko is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
      • Elko has also been known as:
      • Wolf Run
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Elko
      • From Wrights Corners to Elko

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

Cemeteries Near Wrights Corners ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wrights Corners.

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

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

  • Smith Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smith Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Smith Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rixford Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rixford Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rixford Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Moody Hollow Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Moody Hollow Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Moody Hollow Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rose Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rose Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rose Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Elizabeths Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Elizabeths Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Elizabeths Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lamphier Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lamphier Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lamphier Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • McKean Memorial Park
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Lewis Hill Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lewis Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lewis Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Gabriels Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Gabriels Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Gabriels Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Bernards Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Bernards Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Bernards Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (110 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.<6>

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

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

  • Coleville
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coleville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleville
    • Coleville is located in McKean County
  • Farmers Valley
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farmers Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmers Valley
    • Farmers Valley is located in McKean County
  • Rixford
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Rew
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Summit
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Prentisvale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prentisvale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prentisvale
    • Prentisvale is located in McKean County
  • Duke Center
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Aiken
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Aiken. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aiken
    • Aiken is located in McKean County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Aiken
    • From Wrights Corners to Aiken
  • Gifford
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gifford have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gifford
    • Gifford is located in McKean County
  • Simpson
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Simpson have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
    • Simpson is located in McKean County
  • Cyclone
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cyclone have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cyclone
    • Cyclone is located in McKean County
  • Ormsby
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ormsby have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ormsby
    • Ormsby is located in McKean County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Smethport
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Smethport have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smethport
      • Smethport is located in McKean County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,518 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Smethport <4>
    • Dallas City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • East Smethport
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Smethport have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Smethport
      • East Smethport is located in McKean County

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

Newspapers Published in Wrights Corners ...

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 82 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wrights Corners.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wrights Corners, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<7>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wrights Corners.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Wrights Corners:

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>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.
<3>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.
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>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.
<6>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 Wrights Corners, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<7>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 from Point A (ie- Wrights Corners) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Wrights Corners. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.8825, Longitude: -78.4932    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025