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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 Ronkonkoma (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 Ronkonkoma. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Ronkonkoma is located in Suffolk County.

To see how the shape of New York's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

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

  • Suffolk County     (The home county of Ronkonkoma)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ronkonkoma, with the one closest to Ronkonkoma listed first.
    • Lake Ronkonkoma
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Ronkonkoma have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ronkonkoma
      • Lake Ronkonkoma is located in Suffolk County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake Ronkonkoma <2>
    • Holbrook
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holbrook
      • Holbrook is located in Suffolk County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holbrook <2>
    • Bohemia
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Islandia
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Islandia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Islandia
      • Islandia is located in Suffolk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,309 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Islandia <2>
    • Centereach
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centereach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centereach
      • Centereach is located in Suffolk County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Centereach <2>
    • Lake Grove
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Grove
      • Lake Grove is located in Suffolk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,055 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake Grove <2>
    • Nesconset
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nesconset have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nesconset
      • Nesconset is located in Suffolk County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nesconset <2>
    • Holtsville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • The Branch
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for The Branch have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Branch
      • The Branch is located in Suffolk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,789 people
      • The Branch has also been known as:
      • Village of the Branch
    • North Great River
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Great River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Great River
      • North Great River is located in Suffolk County
    • Central Islip
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Hauppauge
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hauppauge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hauppauge
      • Hauppauge is located in Suffolk County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hauppauge <2>
  • Nassau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ronkonkoma, with the one closest to Ronkonkoma listed first.
    • Farmingdale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Old Bethpage
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Bethpage have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Bethpage
      • Old Bethpage is located in Nassau County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Old Bethpage <2>
    • South Farmingdale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Farmingdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Farmingdale
      • South Farmingdale is located in Nassau County
    • East Massapequa
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Massapequa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Massapequa
      • East Massapequa is located in Nassau County
    • Laurel Hollow
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laurel Hollow have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hollow
      • Laurel Hollow is located in Nassau County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,027 people
    • Plainview
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plainview have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainview
      • Plainview is located in Nassau County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plainview <2>
    • Swedetown Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swedetown Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swedetown Village
      • Swedetown Village is located in Nassau County
    • Woodbury
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Massapequa Park
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Massapequa Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massapequa Park
      • Massapequa Park is located in Nassau County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,034 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Massapequa Park <2>
    • North Massapequa
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Massapequa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Massapequa
      • North Massapequa is located in Nassau County
    • Bethpage
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Plainedge
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainedge
      • Plainedge is located in Nassau County
  • Fairfield County (CT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ronkonkoma, with the one closest to Ronkonkoma listed first.
    • Black Rock
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Rock
      • Black Rock is located in Fairfield County (CT)
    • Fairfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Southport
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Compo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compo
      • Compo is located in Fairfield County (CT)
    • Greens Farms
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greens Farms have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greens Farms
      • Greens Farms is located in Fairfield County (CT)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greens Farms <2>
    • Rowayton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rowayton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowayton
      • Rowayton is located in Fairfield County (CT)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rowayton <2>
    • Westport
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westport
      • Westport is located in Fairfield County (CT)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 28,444 people
    • Bridgeport
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
      • Bridgeport is located in Fairfield County (CT)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 143,525 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bridgeport <2>
    • Darien
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Darien have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darien
      • Darien is located in Fairfield County (CT)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,693 people
    • Darien
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • East Norwalk
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Norwalk
      • East Norwalk is located in Fairfield County (CT)
    • Noroton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noroton
      • Noroton is located in Fairfield County (CT)
  • New Haven County (CT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ronkonkoma, with the one closest to Ronkonkoma listed first.
    • Milford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford
      • Milford is located in New Haven County (CT)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 54,781 people
    • Milford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford
      • Milford is located in New Haven County (CT)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 53,259 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milford <2>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Ronkonkoma ...

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 203 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ronkonkoma.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Ronkonkoma. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Ronkonkoma and those printed in the larger area surrounding Ronkonkoma.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3> of Ronkonkoma.

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 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 Ronkonkoma:

Cemeteries Near Ronkonkoma ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ronkonkoma.

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

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

  • Lake Ronkonkoma Cemetery II
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • St. John Nepomucene RC Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. John Nepomucene RC Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. John Nepomucene RC Church Cemetery
  • Bohemia Union Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Cenacle Convent Graveyard
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cenacle Convent Graveyard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cenacle Convent Graveyard
  • UMC Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • The UMC Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Lake Ronkonkoma Cemetery
    • Methodist Church Cemetery
    • Methodist Episcopal Church Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the UMC Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #65037 <4>
  • Newton Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Newton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Newton Cemetery
  • Waverly Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Waverly Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Waverly Cemetery
  • New Village Congregation Church Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Village Congregation Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Village Congregation Church Cemetery
  • St. Patricks Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • First Methodist Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the First Methodist Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the First Methodist Church Cemetery
  • Old Central Islip Psychiatric Center Patient Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Lawrence Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Lawrence Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Lawrence Cemetery
  • Continue List   (249 more) ...
    • Patchogue Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Patchogue Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Patchogue Cemetery
    • Smithtown Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Hauppauge Methodist Episcopal Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hauppauge Methodist Episcopal Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hauppauge Methodist Episcopal Cemetery

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Ronkonkoma had a population of 178 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Bohemia
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Holbrook
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holbrook
    • Holbrook is located in Suffolk County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holbrook <2>
  • Lake Grove
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Grove
    • Lake Grove is located in Suffolk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,055 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake Grove <2>
  • Central Islip
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Saint James
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Holtsville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Hauppauge
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hauppauge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hauppauge
    • Hauppauge is located in Suffolk County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hauppauge <2>
  • West Sayville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Sayville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Sayville
    • West Sayville is located in Suffolk County
  • Sayville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Smithtown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Brentwood
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Great River
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Great River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great River
    • Great River is located in Suffolk County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Great River <2>
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Bayport
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Blue Point
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Patchogue
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)

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

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

The official website for Suffolk County: www.co.suffolk.ny.us/

The official website for State of New York: https://www.ny.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Ronkonkoma) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ronkonkoma. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.8075, Longitude: -73.1243    
<4>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.
<5>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 Ronkonkoma, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024