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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 Thorntons Corner (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 Thorntons Corner. 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 Thorntons Corner ...

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.

  • A typical abbreviation for Thorntons Corner: Thorntons Cor. (or less commonly used: Thorntons Crn.)
  • While the name of this community is Thorntons Corner, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Thorntons Corner may originally have been Thornton's Corner.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Thorntons Corner might be written as Thornton Corner.

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 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.

Thorntons Corner is located in Wayne 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 Wayne County: Cayuga, Monroe, Ontario & Seneca.

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

  • Wayne County     (The home county of Thorntons Corner)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thorntons Corner, with the one closest to Thorntons Corner listed first.
    • South Sodus
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • South Sodus is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Sodus
    • York
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • York is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
    • Wayne Center
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Wayne Center is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayne Center
    • Sodus
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Fairville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Fairville is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairville
    • Sodus Point
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Huron
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Huron is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huron
    • Lyons
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Mud Mills
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Mud Mills is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mud Mills
    • North Huron
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • North Huron is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Huron
    • Clyde
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • East Palmyra
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • East Palmyra is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Palmyra
  • Cayuga County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thorntons Corner, with the one closest to Thorntons Corner listed first.
    • Victory
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Victory is located in Cayuga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victory
    • Fair Haven
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • North Victory
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • North Victory is located in Cayuga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Victory
    • Port Byron
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Port Byron is located in Cayuga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Byron
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,181 people
      • Former name for Port Byron:
      • Bucksville
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Port Byron <2>
    • Cato
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Sterling Valley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Sterling Valley is located in Cayuga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling Valley
    • Cayuga
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Ira
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Ira is located in Cayuga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ira
    • Meridian
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • North Sterling
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • North Sterling is located in Cayuga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Sterling
    • Weedsport
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Cross Roads
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Cross Roads is located in Cayuga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Roads
  • Monroe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thorntons Corner, with the one closest to Thorntons Corner listed first.
    • Webster
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Fairport
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Penfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • East Rochester
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • East Rochester is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Rochester
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,458 people
    • German Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • German Village is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for German Village
    • Glen Haven
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Glen Haven is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Haven
    • Pittsford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Mendon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Brighton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Brighton is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
    • Irondequoit
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Ford Corner
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Ford Corner is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ford Corner
    • White City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • White City is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
  • Onondaga County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thorntons Corner, with the one closest to Thorntons Corner listed first.
    • Lysander
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Lysander is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lysander
    • Jordan
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Plainville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Jacksonville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Elbridge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Jacks Reef
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Jacks Reef is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacks Reef
    • Little Utica
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Little Utica is located in Onondaga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Utica
  • Ontario County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thorntons Corner, with the one closest to Thorntons Corner listed first.
    • Port Gibson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Thompson
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Thompson is located in Ontario County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson
    • Phelps
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • West Junius
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • West Junius is located in Ontario County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Junius
    • Clifton Springs
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Manchester
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Dobbins Corner
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Dobbins Corner is located in Ontario County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dobbins Corner
    • Melvin Hill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Melvin Hill is located in Ontario County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin Hill
    • Shortsville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Seneca Castle
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Hopewell Center
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Hopewell Center is located in Ontario County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell Center
    • Geneva
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
  • Oswego County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thorntons Corner, with the one closest to Thorntons Corner listed first.
    • Hannibal
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Fairdale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Fairdale is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
    • Southwest Oswego
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Southwest Oswego is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southwest Oswego
    • Bowens Corners
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Bowens Corners is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowens Corners
    • Furniss
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Furniss is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furniss
    • Granby Center
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Granby Center is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granby Center
    • Oswego Center
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Oswego Center is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oswego Center
    • South Granby
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • South Granby is located in Oswego County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Granby
    • Minetto
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Seneca County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thorntons Corner, with the one closest to Thorntons Corner listed first.
    • Tyre
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Tyre is located in Seneca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyre
    • Border City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Border City is located in Seneca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Border City
    • Waterloo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Seneca Falls
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Canoga
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Canoga is located in Seneca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canoga
    • Kuneytown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Kuneytown is located in Seneca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kuneytown
    • Romulus
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • East Varick
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • East Varick is located in Seneca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Varick
  • Yates County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Thorntons Corner, with the one closest to Thorntons Corner listed first.
    • Bellona
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Angus
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Angus is located in Yates County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angus
    • Rushville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Thorntons Corner ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Thorntons Corner.

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 Thorntons Corner - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Thorntons Corner covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • South Sodus Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Brick Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Zurich Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Barton Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Espenschied Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Kitchen Burial Plot
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Glerum Farm Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • York Settlement Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Old Mill Street Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Sodus Rural Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Joy Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Fairville Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (352 more) ...

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>

While we didn't find Thorntons Corner in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Thorntons Corner.

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

  • South Sodus
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • South Sodus is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Sodus
  • Zurich
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Zurich is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zurich
  • Sodus Center
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Sodus Center is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sodus Center
  • Alton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Wallington
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Wallington is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallington
  • Wayne Center
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Wayne Center is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayne Center
  • Joy
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Joy is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joy
  • Fairville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Fairville is located in Wayne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairville
  • Sodus
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Rose
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • North Rose
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Sodus Point
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Lyons
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Lock Berlin
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Lock Berlin is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lock Berlin
    • Huron
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Huron is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huron

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

Newspapers Published in Thorntons Corner ...

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 26 newspapers that have been published in the area around Thorntons Corner.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Thorntons Corner, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Thorntons Corner.

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 Thorntons Corner:

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Thorntons Corner, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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- Thorntons Corner) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.