RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of New York >> Tompkins County >> Varna >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
New York

The Commemorative Quarter for New York





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 Varna (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 Varna. 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.

Varna is located in Tompkins County.

To see how the shape of New York's counties 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 Varna. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Varna:

  • Tompkins County     (The home county of Varna)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Varna, with the one closest to Varna listed first.
    • Forest Home
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • East Ithaca
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Ithaca have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Ithaca
      • East Ithaca is located in Tompkins County
    • Cayuga Heights
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cayuga Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayuga Heights
      • Cayuga Heights is located in Tompkins County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,526 people
    • Lansing
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lansing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lansing
      • Lansing is located in Tompkins County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,866 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lansing <2>
    • South Hill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hill
      • South Hill is located in Tompkins County
    • Ithaca
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Besemer
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Freeville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freeville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeville
      • Freeville is located in Tompkins County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 478 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeville <2>
    • Slaterville Springs
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Dryden
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dryden have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dryden
      • Dryden is located in Tompkins County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,996 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dryden <2>
    • Peruville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Peruville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peruville
      • Peruville is located in Tompkins County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Peruville
      • From Varna to Peruville
    • Myers
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Myers. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myers
      • Myers is located in Tompkins County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Myers
      • From Varna to Myers
  • Broome County
  • Cayuga County
  • Chemung County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Varna, with the one closest to Varna listed first.
    • Van Etten
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Van Etten have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Etten
      • Van Etten is located in Chemung County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 494 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Van Etten <2>
    • Erin
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Millport
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Sullivanville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Pine Valley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Owens Mills
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Owens Mills. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owens Mills
      • Owens Mills is located in Chemung County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Owens Mills
      • From Varna to Owens Mills
    • Horseheads
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Pioneer Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pioneer Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer Village
      • Pioneer Village is located in Chemung County
    • Elmira Heights
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elmira Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmira Heights
      • Elmira Heights is located in Chemung County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,747 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elmira Heights <2>
    • Post Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Post Creek. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Post Creek
      • Post Creek is located in Chemung County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Post Creek
      • From Varna to Post Creek
  • Cortland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Varna, with the one closest to Varna listed first.
    • Harford
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Harford Mills
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Munsons Corners
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Munsons Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munsons Corners
      • Munsons Corners is located in Cortland County
    • Cortland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Lapeer
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Messengerville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Homer
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • McGraw
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McGraw have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGraw
      • McGraw is located in Cortland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 968 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McGraw <2>
    • Marathon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marathon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marathon
      • Marathon is located in Cortland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 853 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marathon <2>
    • East River
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for East River. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East River
      • East River is located in Cortland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to East River
      • From Varna to East River
    • Little York
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Pratt Corners
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Onondaga County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Varna, with the one closest to Varna listed first.
    • Spafford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Spafford. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spafford
      • Spafford is located in Onondaga County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Spafford
      • From Varna to Spafford
    • Otisco Valley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Assembly Park
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Mandana
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Tully
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tully have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tully
      • Tully is located in Onondaga County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 849 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tully <2>
    • Otisco
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Schuyler County
  • Seneca County
  • Tioga County
  • Yates County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Varna, with the one closest to Varna listed first.
    • Glenora
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Glenora. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenora
      • Glenora is located in Yates County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Glenora
      • From Varna to Glenora
    • Dundee
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dundee have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundee
      • Dundee is located in Yates County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,608 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dundee <2>
    • Himrod
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Dresden
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Varna ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Varna.

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

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

  • East Lawn Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East Lawn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the East Lawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ithaca City Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ithaca City Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ithaca City Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ithaca City Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ithaca City Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ithaca City Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Olivet Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Olivet Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Olivet Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pleasant Grove Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Lake View Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • South Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the South Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the South Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Brown Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brown Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brown Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ellis Hollow Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ellis Hollow Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ellis Hollow Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Etna Community Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Etna Community Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Etna Community Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Kings Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kings Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kings Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (419 more) ...
    • Roe Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Roe Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Roe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Inlet Valley Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Inlet Valley Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Inlet Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Morris Chapel Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Morris Chapel Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Morris Chapel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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 Varna had a population of 208 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Forest Home
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Ithaca
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Ellis
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ellis have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
    • Ellis is located in Tompkins County
  • Etna
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Etna have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
    • Etna is located in Tompkins County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Etna <2>
  • McKinneys
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McKinneys have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKinneys
    • McKinneys is located in Tompkins County
  • Besemer
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • West Dryden
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Dryden have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Dryden
    • West Dryden is located in Tompkins County
  • Asbury
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Asbury have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asbury
    • Asbury is located in Tompkins County
  • Caroline Depot
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Caroline Depot have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caroline Depot
    • Caroline Depot is located in Tompkins County
  • Slaterville Springs
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Freeville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freeville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeville
    • Freeville is located in Tompkins County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 478 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeville <2>
  • South Lansing
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Lansing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Lansing
    • South Lansing is located in Tompkins County
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Danby
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Danby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danby
      • Danby is located in Tompkins County
    • Midway
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Midway have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
      • Midway is located in Tompkins County
    • Dryden
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dryden have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dryden
      • Dryden is located in Tompkins County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,996 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dryden <2>

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

Newspapers Published in Varna ...

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 61 newspapers that have been published in the area around Varna.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Varna, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Varna.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Varna:

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

The official website for Tompkins County: www.co.tompkins.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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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 Varna, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Varna) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Varna. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.4543, Longitude: -76.4403    









 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025