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 Pleasant Valley (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 Pleasant Valley. 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 Pleasant Valley ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Pleasant Valley: Pleasant Vly. (or less commonly used: Pleasant Vally. or Pleasant Vlly.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Pleasant Valley. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Pleasant Valley.
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 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.
Pleasant Valley is located in Allegany County.
To see how the shape of Maryland's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Allegany County: Garrett, Washington, Bedford (PA), Fulton (PA), Somerset (PA), Hampshire (WV), Mineral (WV) & Morgan (WV).
Below are the counties that are near Pleasant Valley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Pleasant Valley:
- Allegany County (The home county of Pleasant Valley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Flintstone
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Rush
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Rush is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rush
- Town Creek ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Town Creek is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town Creek
- Cumberland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Shanty Town ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Shanty Town is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanty Town
- Ellerslie
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Ellerslie is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellerslie
- Mount Savage Junction
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Corriganville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Corriganville is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corriganville
- La Vale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Spring Gap
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Spring Gap is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Gap
- Barrelville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Barrelville is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrelville
- Oldtown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Cedar Cliff
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cedar Cliff is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Cliff
- Garrett County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Avilton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Avilton is located in Garrett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avilton
- Grantsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Bloomington
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bloomington is located in Garrett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Pearre
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Pearre is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearre
- Hancock
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Bedford County (PA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Beans Cove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Beans Cove is located in Bedford County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Cove
- Cooks Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cooks Mills is located in Bedford County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Mills
- Stringtown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Stringtown is located in Bedford County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Hyndman
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Rainsburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Rainsburg is located in Bedford County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainsburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
- Purcell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Purcell is located in Bedford County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purcell
- Charlesville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Charlesville is located in Bedford County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlesville
- Robinsonville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Robinsonville is located in Bedford County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinsonville
- Kegg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Kegg is located in Bedford County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kegg
- Manns Choice
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Bedford
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ott Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ott Town is located in Bedford County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ott Town
- Schellsburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Fulton County (PA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Warfordsburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Emmaville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Emmaville is located in Fulton County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmaville
- Dott
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Dott is located in Fulton County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dott
- Covalt
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Covalt is located in Fulton County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covalt
- Needmore
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Crystal Spring
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Crystal Spring is located in Fulton County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Spring
- Akersville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Akersville is located in Fulton County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akersville
- Sipes Mill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sipes Mill is located in Fulton County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipes Mill
- Somerset County (PA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Wellersburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Wellersburg is located in Somerset County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellersburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
- Fairhope
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Johnsburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Wittenberg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Wittenberg is located in Somerset County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittenberg
- Callimont
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Callimont is located in Somerset County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Callimont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 38 people
- New Baltimore
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- New Baltimore is located in Somerset County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Baltimore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 167 people
- Hays Mill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hays Mill is located in Somerset County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hays Mill
- Glade City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Glade City is located in Somerset County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade City
- Berlin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Downey
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Downey is located in Somerset County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downey
- Meyersdale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Pine Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Hill is located in Somerset County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Hill
- West Meyersdale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- West Meyersdale is located in Somerset County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Meyersdale
- Frederick County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Good
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Good is located in Frederick County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good
- Collinsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Collinsville is located in Frederick County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collinsville
- Shockeysville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Shockeysville is located in Frederick County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shockeysville
- Hampshire County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Donaldson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Donaldson is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
- Okonoko
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Okonoko is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okonoko
- Points
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Points is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Points
- Springfield
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Higginsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Higginsville is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Higginsville
- Ritters
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Ritters is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritters
- Three Churches
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Three Churches is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Churches
- Wapocomo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Wapocomo is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wapocomo
- Vance
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Vance is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
- Slanesville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Slanesville is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slanesville
- Romney
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Romney is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romney
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,680 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Romney <1>
- North River Mills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- North River Mills is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North River Mills
- Augusta
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Mineral County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Ridgeley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Carpendale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Carpendale is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpendale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 900 people
- Wiley Ford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Short Gap
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Short Gap is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Gap
- Fort Ashby
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Headsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Headsville is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Headsville
- Keyser
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Piedmont
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Burlington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- New Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Windom ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Windom is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
- Morgan County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Doe Gully
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Doe Gully is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doe Gully
- Orleans Cross Roads
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Orleans Cross Roads is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans Cross Roads
- Hansrote
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hansrote is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hansrote
- Magnolia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Magnolia is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Paw Paw
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Woodmont
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Woodmont is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodmont
- Bath
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Bath is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
- Population from the 2020 Census: 587 people
- Berkeley Springs
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Berryville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Berryville is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryville
- Hancock
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Hancock is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancock
- Oakland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Oakland is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Stotlers Crossroads
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Stotlers Crossroads is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stotlers Crossroads
- Sleepy Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Sleepy Creek is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sleepy Creek
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Pleasant Valley, see our County-by-County Page for Pleasant Valley.
Cemeteries Near Pleasant Valley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pleasant Valley.
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 Pleasant Valley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Pleasant Valley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Rocky Gap Veterans Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Fairview Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Green Meadow Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Robinette Family Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Rush Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Oakdale Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Zion Park Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Union Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Hillcrest Memorial Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Browning Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Growden Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (198 more) ...
- Lashley Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Ruby Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Porter Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
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 Pleasant Valley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Pleasant Valley.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Pleasant Valley, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley listed first.
- Hazen
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Hazen is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazen
- Rush
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Rush is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rush
- Flintstone
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Town Creek ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Town Creek is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town Creek
- Beans Cove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Beans Cove is located in Bedford County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Cove
- Cooks Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cooks Mills is located in Bedford County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Mills
- State Line
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- State Line is located in Bedford County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line
- Mount Savage Junction
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Cumberland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ellerslie
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Ellerslie is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellerslie
- Kreigbaum
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Kreigbaum is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kreigbaum
- Ridgeley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Corriganville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Corriganville is located in Allegany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corriganville
- Elbinsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Elbinsville is located in Bedford County (PA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbinsville
- Hyndman
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Pleasant Valley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Pleasant Valley.
Newspapers Published in Pleasant Valley ...
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 Pleasant Valley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pleasant Valley, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pleasant Valley.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Pleasant Valley:
- Websites specific to Maryland
- Pages specific to Allegany County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Garrett County
- Washington County
- Bedford County
- Fulton County
- Somerset County
- Frederick County
- Hampshire County
- Mineral County
- Morgan County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Maryland
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 Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) has created and maintains a database of historic properties that is called MIHP (for the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties). More information about the MHT and MIHP can be found on their website: mht.maryland.gov. |
| <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 Pleasant Valley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | 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 from Point A (ie- Pleasant Valley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |