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 Etna (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 Etna. 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 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.
Etna is located in Tompkins County.
To see how the shape of New York's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Tompkins County: Cayuga, Chemung, Cortland, Schuyler, Seneca & Tioga.
Below are the counties that are near Etna. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Etna:
- Tompkins County (The home county of Etna)
- The following are listed by their distance from Etna, with the one closest to Etna listed first.
- Freeville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Varna
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Varna is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varna
- Dryden
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Peruville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Peruville is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peruville
- Forest Home
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Forest Home is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Home
- East Ithaca
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- East Ithaca is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Ithaca
- Cayuga Heights
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Cayuga Heights is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayuga Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,526 people
- Lansing
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- McLean
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Besemer
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Besemer is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Besemer
- Slaterville Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Ithaca
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Broome County
- The following are listed by their distance from Etna, with the one closest to Etna listed first.
- Killawog
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Manningville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Manningville is located in Broome County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manningville
- Lisle
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Upper Lisle
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Upper Lisle is located in Broome County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Lisle
- Whitney Point
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Glen Aubrey
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Maine
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Maine is located in Broome County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maine
- Triangle
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Triangle is located in Broome County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Triangle
- Castle Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Castle Creek is located in Broome County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Creek
- West Chenango
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- West Chenango is located in Broome County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chenango
- New Ireland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- New Ireland is located in Broome County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Ireland
- Cayuga County
- The following are listed by their distance from Etna, with the one closest to Etna listed first.
- Summer Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Summer Hill is located in Cayuga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summer Hill
- Summer Hill has also been known as:
- Plato
- Locke
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- East Genoa
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- East Genoa is located in Cayuga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Genoa
- Dresserville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Dresserville is located in Cayuga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dresserville
- Montville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Montville is located in Cayuga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montville
- Moravia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Atwaters
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Atwaters is located in Cayuga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atwaters
- Sempronius
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Sempronius is located in Cayuga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sempronius
- Ledyard
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Ledyard is located in Cayuga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ledyard
- Cascade
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Cascade is located in Cayuga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade
- Kelloggsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Kelloggsville is located in Cayuga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelloggsville
- Black Rock
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Black Rock is located in Cayuga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Rock
- Chemung County
- The following are listed by their distance from Etna, with the one closest to Etna listed first.
- Van Etten
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Erin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Millport
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Sullivanville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Sullivanville is located in Chemung County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivanville
- Pine Valley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Owens Mills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Owens Mills is located in Chemung County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owens Mills
- Chenango County
- The following are listed by their distance from Etna, with the one closest to Etna listed first.
- Pitcher
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Smithville Flats
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Cortland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Etna, with the one closest to Etna listed first.
- Harford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Harford Mills
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Harford Mills is located in Cortland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harford Mills
- Munsons Corners
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Munsons Corners is located in Cortland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munsons Corners
- Cortland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Lapeer
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Lapeer is located in Cortland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lapeer
- Homer
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Messengerville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Messengerville is located in Cortland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Messengerville
- McGraw
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Marathon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- East River
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- East River is located in Cortland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East River
- Pratt Corners
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Pratt Corners is located in Cortland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt Corners
- East Scott
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- East Scott is located in Cortland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Scott
- Onondaga County
- The following are listed by their distance from Etna, with the one closest to Etna listed first.
- Spafford
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Spafford is located in Onondaga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spafford
- Otisco Valley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Otisco Valley is located in Onondaga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otisco Valley
- Assembly Park
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Assembly Park is located in Onondaga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assembly Park
- Tully
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mandana
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Mandana is located in Onondaga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandana
- Otisco
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Otisco is located in Onondaga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otisco
- Amber
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Amber is located in Onondaga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amber
- Thorn Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Thorn Hill is located in Onondaga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorn Hill
- Apulia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Apulia is located in Onondaga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apulia
- Rose Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Rose Hill is located in Onondaga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill
- Cardiff
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Cardiff is located in Onondaga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardiff
- Schuyler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Etna, with the one closest to Etna listed first.
- Perry City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Mecklenburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Cayutaville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cayutaville is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayutaville
- Searsburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Searsburg is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searsburg
- Alpine
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bennettsburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Bennettsburg is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennettsburg
- Logan
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Logan is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan
- Catharine
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Catharine is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catharine
- Odessa
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Burdett
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Hector
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Montour Falls
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Seneca County
- The following are listed by their distance from Etna, with the one closest to Etna listed first.
- Interlaken
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Interlaken is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Interlaken
- Population from the 2020 Census: 599 people
- Former names for Interlaken:
- Farmer Village
- Farmer
- Farmerville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Interlaken <1>
- Kidders
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Kidders is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kidders
- Lodi
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Ovid
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- East Varick
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- East Varick is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Varick
- Willard
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Romulus
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Tioga County
- The following are listed by their distance from Etna, with the one closest to Etna listed first.
- Candor
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- North Spencer
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- North Spencer is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Spencer
- West Candor
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- West Candor is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Candor
- West Newark
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- West Newark is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Newark
- Spencer
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Hamar Estates
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Hamar Estates is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamar Estates
- Ketchumville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Ketchumville is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ketchumville
- Newark Valley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Weltonville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Weltonville is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weltonville
- Hullsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hullsville is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hullsville
- Owego
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Gaskill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Gaskill is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaskill
- Yates County
- The following are listed by their distance from Etna, with the one closest to Etna listed first.
- Glenora
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Glenora is located in Yates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenora
- Himrod
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Dundee
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Etna, see our County-by-County Page for Etna.
Cemeteries Near Etna ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Etna.
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 Etna - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Etna covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Etna, with the one closest to Etna listed first.
- Etna Community Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Willow Glen Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Ellis Hollow Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Peruville Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Brown Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- East Lawn Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Lake View Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Ithaca City Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ithaca City Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Olivet Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- South Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (430 more) ...
- Roe Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Dutch Reformed Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Mulks Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
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 Etna had a population of 377 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Etna, with the one closest to Etna listed first.
- Freeville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- West Dryden
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- West Dryden is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Dryden
- Varna
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Varna is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varna
- Forest Home
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Forest Home is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Home
- Ellis
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Ellis is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
- Dryden
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Peruville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Peruville is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peruville
- Ithaca
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Besemer
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Besemer is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Besemer
- Slaterville Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- McLean
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Asbury
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Asbury is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asbury
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- McKinneys
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- McKinneys is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKinneys
- Groton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- East Lansing
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- East Lansing is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lansing
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Etna. See our List of 1890's Communities around Etna.
Newspapers Published in Etna ...
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 104 newspapers that have been published in the area around Etna.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Etna, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Etna.
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 helpful 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 Etna:
- Websites specific to New York
- Pages specific to Tompkins County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Broome County
- Cayuga County
- Chemung County
- Chenango County
- Cortland County
- Onondaga County
- Schuyler County
- Seneca County
- Tioga County
- Yates 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 Etna, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Etna) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |