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 Gretna (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 Gretna. 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 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.
Gretna is located in Dutchess 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 Dutchess County: Fairfield (CT), Litchfield (CT), Berkshire (MA), Columbia, Orange, Putnam & Ulster.
Below are the counties that are near Gretna. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Gretna:
- Dutchess County (The home county of Gretna)
- The following are listed by their distance from Gretna, with the one closest to Gretna listed first.
- Pleasant Valley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Salt Point
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Haviland
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Haviland is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haviland
- Pleasant Plains
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Pleasant Plains is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Plains
- Hibernia
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hibernia is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hibernia
- Hyde Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Fairview
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Staatsburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Manchester Bridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Manchester Bridge is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester Bridge
- Arlington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Poughkeepsie
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Freedom Plains
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Freedom Plains is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom Plains
- Columbia County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gretna, with the one closest to Gretna listed first.
- Elizaville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Silvernails
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Silvernails is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silvernails
- Ancramdale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ancram
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Suydam ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Suydam is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suydam
- Germantown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- West Taghkanic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- West Taghkanic is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Taghkanic
- North Germantown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- North Germantown is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Germantown
- Weed Mines
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Weed Mines is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weed Mines
- Burden
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Burden is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burden
- Glenco Mills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Glenco Mills is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenco Mills
- Copake
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gretna, with the one closest to Gretna listed first.
- Cornwall-on-Hudson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Cornwall-on-Hudson is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall-on-Hudson
- Platte Clove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Platte Clove is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platte Clove
- Palenville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Catskill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Catskill is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catskill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,815 people
- Kiskatom
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Kiskatom is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiskatom
- Orange County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gretna, with the one closest to Gretna listed first.
- Balmville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Balmville is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balmville
- Cronomer Valley
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Cronomer Valley is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cronomer Valley
- Leptondale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Leptondale is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leptondale
- Gardnertown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Gardnertown is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardnertown
- Newburgh
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Orange Lake
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Orange Lake is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Lake
- Saint Andrew
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Andrew is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Andrew
- New Windsor
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Walden
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Cornwall Landing
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Cornwall Landing is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall Landing
- Cornwall-on-Hudson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Denniston
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Denniston is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denniston
- Putnam County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gretna, with the one closest to Gretna listed first.
- Farmers Mills
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Farmers Mills is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmers Mills
- Patterson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lake Carmel
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Lake Carmel is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Carmel
- Nelsonville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Nelsonville is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelsonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 632 people
- Towners
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Towners is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Towners
- Cold Spring
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Mahopac Mines
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Mahopac Mines is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahopac Mines
- Tompkins Corners
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Tompkins Corners is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tompkins Corners
- Dykemans
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Dykemans is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dykemans
- Putnam Lake
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Putnam Lake is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putnam Lake
- Crafts
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Crafts is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crafts
- Brewster Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Brewster Hill is located in Putnam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewster Hill
- Ulster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gretna, with the one closest to Gretna listed first.
- Esopus
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Highland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Oakes
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Oakes is located in Ulster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakes
- Lloyd
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Lloyd is located in Ulster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloyd
- Plutarch
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Plutarch is located in Ulster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plutarch
- Port Ewen
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Milton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rifton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Connelly
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Creeklocks
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Creeklocks is located in Ulster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creeklocks
- Ponck Hockie
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ponck Hockie is located in Ulster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ponck Hockie
- Tillson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Fairfield County (CT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Gretna, with the one closest to Gretna listed first.
- Sherman
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Sherman is located in Fairfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,610 people
- Sherman
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ball Pond
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ball Pond is located in Fairfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Pond
- New Fairfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- New Fairfield is located in Fairfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Fairfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,792 people
- New Fairfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Brookfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Litchfield County (CT)
- The following are listed by their distance from Gretna, with the one closest to Gretna listed first.
- Bulls Bridge
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Bulls Bridge is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bulls Bridge
- Kent
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- New Milford
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- New Milford is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Milford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 26,683 people
- Kent
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Kent is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,766 people
- Sharon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- South Kent
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Gaylordsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Merwinsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Merwinsville is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merwinsville
- Ellsworth
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Ellsworth is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellsworth
- North Kent
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- North Kent is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Kent
- Sharon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Sharon is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,691 people
- Ore Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Ore Hill is located in Litchfield County (CT)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ore Hill
- Berkshire County (MA)
- Mount Washington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Washington is located in Berkshire County (MA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Washington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Gretna, see our County-by-County Page for Gretna.
Cemeteries Near Gretna ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Gretna.
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 Gretna - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Gretna covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Gretna, with the one closest to Gretna listed first.
- Crum Elbow Rural Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crum Elbow Rural Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Crum Elbow Rural Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the south of Pleasant Plains.
- The Crum Elbow Rural Cemetery has also been known as:
- Crum Elbow Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #64308 <3>
- Beth-El Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Temple Beth-El Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Union Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Peters Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- St. Peters Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Peters Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Peters Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of Poughkeepsie.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1432561 <3>
- Stoutenberg Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Upton Lake Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Calvary Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- LaGrange Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Beaver Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ascension Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Continue List (245 more) ...
- Ferris Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hutton Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Highland Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
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 in 1895, Gretna had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Gretna, with the one closest to Gretna listed first.
- Netherwood
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Netherwood is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Netherwood
- Pleasant Valley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Salt Point
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- East Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- East Park is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Park
- Pleasant Plains
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Pleasant Plains is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Plains
- Washington Hollow
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Washington Hollow is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Hollow
- Hibernia
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hibernia is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hibernia
- Clinton Hollow
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Clinton Hollow is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton Hollow
- Hyde Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Clinton Corners
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- West Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- West Park is located in Ulster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Park
- Poughkeepsie
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Arlington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Manchester Bridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Manchester Bridge is located in Dutchess County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester Bridge
- Staatsburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Gretna. See our List of 1890's Communities around Gretna.
Newspapers Published in Gretna ...
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 115 newspapers that have been published in the area around Gretna.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Gretna, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Gretna.
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 Gretna:
- Websites specific to New York
- Pages specific to Dutchess County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Columbia County
- Greene County
- Orange County
- Putnam County
- Ulster County
- Fairfield County
- Litchfield County
- Berkshire 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Gretna) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Gretna, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |