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 Podunk (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 Podunk. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.
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 east contained birth and death records; the county to the north 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.
Podunk 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 Podunk. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Podunk:
- Tompkins County (The home county of Podunk)
- The following are listed by their distance from Podunk, with the one closest to Podunk listed first.
- Trumansburg
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Taughannock Falls
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Taughannock Falls is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taughannock Falls
- Jacksonville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jacksonville is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
- Willow Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Willow Creek is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Creek
- Myers
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Myers is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myers
- Lake Ridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Lake Ridge is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ridge
- Lansing
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Cayuga Heights
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cayuga Heights is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayuga Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,526 people
- Ithaca
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- East Lansing
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- East Lansing is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lansing
- North Lansing
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- North Lansing is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Lansing
- Forest Home
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Forest Home is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Home
- South Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- South Hill is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hill
- Cayuga County
- The following are listed by their distance from Podunk, with the one closest to Podunk listed first.
- Atwaters
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Atwaters is located in Cayuga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atwaters
- Ledyard
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Ledyard is located in Cayuga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ledyard
- East Genoa
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- East Genoa is located in Cayuga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Genoa
- Black Rock
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Black Rock is located in Cayuga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Rock
- Willets
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Willets is located in Cayuga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willets
- Poplar Ridge
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Aurora
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Locke
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Sherwood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Sherwood is located in Cayuga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherwood
- Scipioville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Scipioville is located in Cayuga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scipioville
- Moravia
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cascade
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Cascade is located in Cayuga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade
- Montville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Montville is located in Cayuga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montville
- Chemung County
- The following are listed by their distance from Podunk, with the one closest to Podunk listed first.
- Millport
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Sullivanville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Sullivanville is located in Chemung County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivanville
- Pine Valley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Erin
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Van Etten
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Horseheads
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Pioneer Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Pioneer Village is located in Chemung County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer Village
- Post Creek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Post Creek is located in Chemung County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Post Creek
- Elmira Heights
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Elmira
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Big Flats
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Cortland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Podunk, with the one closest to Podunk listed first.
- Harford
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Munsons Corners
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Munsons Corners is located in Cortland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munsons Corners
- Harford Mills
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Harford Mills is located in Cortland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harford Mills
- Cortland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Homer
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Scott
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Scott is located in Cortland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott
- East Scott
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- East Scott is located in Cortland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Scott
- Little York
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Little York is located in Cortland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little York
- Pratt Corners
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Pratt Corners is located in Cortland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt Corners
- East River
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- East River is located in Cortland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East River
- Lapeer
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Lapeer is located in Cortland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lapeer
- McGraw
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Preble
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Onondaga County
- The following are listed by their distance from Podunk, with the one closest to Podunk listed first.
- Mandana
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mandana is located in Onondaga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandana
- Spafford
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Spafford is located in Onondaga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spafford
- Otisco Valley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Otisco Valley is located in Onondaga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otisco Valley
- Thorn Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Thorn Hill is located in Onondaga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorn Hill
- Ontario County
- The following are listed by their distance from Podunk, with the one closest to Podunk listed first.
- Billsboro
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Billsboro is located in Ontario County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billsboro
- Hall
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Geneva
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dobbins Corner
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dobbins Corner is located in Ontario County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dobbins Corner
- Gorham
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Schuyler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Podunk, with the one closest to Podunk listed first.
- Perry City
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Searsburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Searsburg is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searsburg
- Mecklenburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Logan
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Logan is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan
- Cayutaville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Cayutaville is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayutaville
- Bennettsburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bennettsburg is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennettsburg
- Hector
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Burdett
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Alpine
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Odessa
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Watkins Glen
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Watkins Glen is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watkins Glen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,851 people
- Former names for Watkins Glen:
- Jefferson
- Salubria
- Watkins
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Watkins Glen <1>
- Catharine
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Catharine is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catharine
- Montour Falls
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Seneca County
- The following are listed by their distance from Podunk, with the one closest to Podunk listed first.
- Interlaken
(7 miles [11.3 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
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Kidders is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kidders
- Lodi
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ovid
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Willard
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- East Varick
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- East Varick is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Varick
- Romulus
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Kuneytown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Kuneytown is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kuneytown
- Canoga
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Canoga is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canoga
- Seneca Falls
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Waterloo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Border City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Border City is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Border City
- Steuben County
- The following are listed by their distance from Podunk, with the one closest to Podunk listed first.
- Keuka
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Keuka is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keuka
- Bradford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Catawba
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Catawba is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catawba
- South Pulteney
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- South Pulteney is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Pulteney
- Urbana
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Urbana is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urbana
- Hornby
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hornby is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornby
- South Bradford
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- South Bradford is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bradford
- Sonora
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Sonora is located in Steuben County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonora
- Hammondsport
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Tioga County
- The following are listed by their distance from Podunk, with the one closest to Podunk listed first.
- North Spencer
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- North Spencer is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Spencer
- Spencer
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- West Candor
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- West Candor is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Candor
- Candor
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hamar Estates
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hamar Estates is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamar Estates
- West Newark
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- West Newark is located in Tioga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Newark
- Lockwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Yates County
- The following are listed by their distance from Podunk, with the one closest to Podunk listed first.
- Glenora
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Glenora is located in Yates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenora
- Himrod
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Dundee
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Dresden
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Seneca Mills
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Seneca Mills is located in Yates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seneca Mills
- Barrington
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Barrington is located in Yates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrington
- Angus
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Angus is located in Yates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angus
- Penn Yan
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Keuka Park
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Bellona
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Benton Center
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Benton Center is located in Yates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton Center
- Yatesville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Yatesville is located in Yates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yatesville
- Potter
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Potter is located in Yates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potter
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Podunk, see our County-by-County Page for Podunk.
Cemeteries Near Podunk ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Podunk.
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 Podunk - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Podunk covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Podunk, with the one closest to Podunk listed first.
- St. James Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Cemetery
- The Grove Cemetery has also been known as:
- Trumansburg Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #64733 <2>
- Jones Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Covert Baptist Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Quaker Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Carman Road Quaker Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Mecklenburg Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Christian Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Rolfe Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Cronk Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- McIntyre Settlement Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Presbyterian Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (418 more) ...
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Lake Ridge Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Townsendville Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
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 Podunk in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Podunk.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Podunk, with the one closest to Podunk listed first.
- Waterburg
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Waterburg is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterburg
- Trumansburg
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Perry City
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jacksonville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jacksonville is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
- Taughannock Falls
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Taughannock Falls is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taughannock Falls
- Covert
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Covert is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covert
- Searsburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Searsburg is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searsburg
- Willow Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Willow Creek is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Creek
- Mecklenburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- East Steamburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- East Steamburg is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Steamburg
- Reynoldsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Reynoldsville is located in Schuyler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsville
- Myers
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Myers is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myers
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Ludlowville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Ludlowville is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludlowville
- Lake Ridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Lake Ridge is located in Tompkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ridge
- Townsendville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Townsendville is located in Seneca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Townsendville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Podunk. See our List of 1890's Communities around Podunk.
Newspapers Published in Podunk ...
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 150 newspapers that have been published in the area around Podunk.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Podunk, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Podunk.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Podunk:
- Websites specific to New York
- Pages specific to Tompkins County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cayuga County
- Chemung County
- Cortland County
- Onondaga County
- Ontario County
- Schuyler County
- Seneca County
- Steuben 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 Podunk, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Podunk) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |