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 The Branch (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 The Branch. 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 The Branch ...
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 occur.
The Branch has also been known as: Village of the Branch.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named The Branch. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for The Branch.
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 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.
The Branch is located in Suffolk County.
To see how the shape of New York's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Below are the counties that are near The Branch. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to The Branch:
- Suffolk County (The home county of The Branch)
- The following are listed by their distance from The Branch, with the one closest to The Branch listed first.
- Smithtown
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Nesconset
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Saint James
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- San Remo
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- San Remo is located in Suffolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Remo
- Hauppauge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Lake Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Nissequogue
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Nissequogue is located in Suffolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nissequogue
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,727 people
- Head-of-the-Harbor
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Head-of-the-Harbor is located in Suffolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Head-of-the-Harbor
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,452 people
- Islandia
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Lake Ronkonkoma
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Centereach
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Kings Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Central Islip
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Nassau County
- The following are listed by their distance from The Branch, with the one closest to The Branch listed first.
- Woodbury
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Farmingdale
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Old Bethpage
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Laurel Hollow
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Laurel Hollow is located in Nassau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hollow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,027 people
- Plainview
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- South Farmingdale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- South Farmingdale is located in Nassau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Farmingdale
- Swedetown Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Swedetown Village is located in Nassau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedetown Village
- Cove Neck
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Cove Neck is located in Nassau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Neck
- Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
- Oyster Bay Cove
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Oyster Bay Cove is located in Nassau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oyster Bay Cove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,243 people
- Syosset
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Bethpage
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- North Massapequa
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- North Massapequa is located in Nassau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Massapequa
- Centre Island
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Centre Island is located in Nassau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centre Island
- Population from the 2020 Census: 404 people
- Queens County
- The following are listed by their distance from The Branch, with the one closest to The Branch listed first.
- Douglaston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Little Neck
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Queens Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Westchester County
- The following are listed by their distance from The Branch, with the one closest to The Branch listed first.
- Port Chester
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Milton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Milton is located in Westchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton
- Rye
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Rye is located in Westchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rye
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,634 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rye <1>
- Rye Brook
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Harrison
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Scotts Corners
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Scotts Corners is located in Westchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Corners
- Larchmont
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Mamaroneck
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Banksville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Banksville is located in Westchester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banksville
- Purchase
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Fairfield County (CT)
- The following are listed by their distance from The Branch, with the one closest to The Branch listed first.
- Greens Farms
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Compo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Compo is located in Fairfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compo
- Rowayton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Black Rock
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Black Rock is located in Fairfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Rock
- Fairfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Southport
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Darien
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Darien is located in Fairfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darien
- Population from the 2020 Census: 21,693 people
- East Norwalk
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- East Norwalk is located in Fairfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Norwalk
- Norwalk
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Norwalk is located in Fairfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwalk
- Population from the 2020 Census: 88,655 people
- Saugatuck
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Saugatuck is located in Fairfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saugatuck
- South Norwalk
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- South Norwalk is located in Fairfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Norwalk
- Westport
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Westport is located in Fairfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westport
- Population from the 2020 Census: 28,444 people
- Darien
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- New Haven County (CT)
- The following are listed by their distance from The Branch, with the one closest to The Branch listed first.
- Milford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Milford is located in New Haven County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54,781 people
- Milford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Orange
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Orange is located in New Haven County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,882 people
- Orange
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- West Haven
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to The Branch, see our County-by-County Page for The Branch.
Cemeteries Near The Branch ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of The Branch.
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 The Branch - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for The Branch covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from The Branch, with the one closest to The Branch listed first.
- Smithtown Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- St. Patricks Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Landing Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landing Cemetery
- The Landing Cemetery has also been known as:
- Smithtown Landing Methodist Churchyard Cemetery
- Hauppauge Methodist Episcopal Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- St. James Episcopal Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- St. James Methodist Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Newton Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Mills Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- First Methodist Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Lake Ronkonkoma Cemetery II
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- UMC Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for UMC Cemetery
- The UMC Cemetery has also been known as:
- Lake Ronkonkoma Cemetery
- Methodist Church Cemetery
- Methodist Episcopal Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #65037 <2>
- Continue List (312 more) ...
- New Village Congregation Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- St. Johnland Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Holy Cross Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
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>
While we didn't find The Branch in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of The Branch.
These communities are listed based on their distance from The Branch, with the one closest to The Branch listed first.
- Smithtown
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Hauppauge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Saint James
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Central Islip
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Ronkonkoma
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Kings Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Stony Brook
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Commack
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Brentwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Holbrook
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bohemia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Holtsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Selden
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Terryville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Terryville is located in Suffolk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terryville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around The Branch. See our List of 1890's Communities around The Branch.
Newspapers Published in The Branch ...
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 181 newspapers that have been published in the area around The Branch.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of The Branch, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for The Branch.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 The Branch:
- Websites specific to New York
- Pages specific to Suffolk County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Nassau County
- Queens County
- Westchester County
- Fairfield County
- New Haven County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for New York
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 The Branch, 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 from Point A (ie- The Branch) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |