RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> Commonwealth of Pennsylvania >> Somerset County >> Acosta >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Acosta (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 Acosta. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Acosta is located in Somerset County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Somerset County: Allegany (MD), Garrett (MD), Bedford, Cambria, Fayette & Westmoreland.

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

  • Somerset County     (The home county of Acosta)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Acosta, with the one closest to Acosta listed first.
    • Sipesville
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Sipesville is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipesville
    • Jenners
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jenners is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenners
    • Gideon
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Gideon is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gideon
    • Jenners Crossroads
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Jenners Crossroads is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenners Crossroads
    • Jennerstown
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Roytown
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Roytown is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roytown
    • Husband
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Husband is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Husband
    • Laurel Mountain Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Friedens
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Kantner
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Kantner is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kantner
    • Stoystown
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Coleman
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Coleman is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman
  • Bedford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Acosta, with the one closest to Acosta listed first.
    • Kegg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Kegg is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kegg
    • New Paris
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Schellsburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Pleasantville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Pleasantville is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasantville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 205 people
    • Manns Choice
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Hyndman
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Pavia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Pavia is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pavia
    • Wolfsburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Wolfsburg is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfsburg
    • Osterburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Stringtown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Stringtown is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
    • Saint Clairsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Saint Clairsville is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clairsville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 75 people
    • Cooks Mills
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Cooks Mills is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Mills
  • Cambria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Acosta, with the one closest to Acosta listed first.
    • Ingleside
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Ingleside is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleside
    • Elim
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Elim is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elim
    • Ferndale
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Belmont
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Belmont is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
    • Scalp Level
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Scalp Level is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scalp Level
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 691 people
    • Southmont
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Southmont is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southmont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,048 people
    • Westmont
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Westmont is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westmont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,625 people
    • Brownstown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Daisytown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Daisytown is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisytown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 290 people
    • Dale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Dale is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,110 people
    • Geistown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Geistown is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geistown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,242 people
    • Johnstown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Acosta, with the one closest to Acosta listed first.
    • Seven Springs
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Champion
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Indian Head
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Indian Head is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Head
    • White
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • White is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
    • Bear Rocks
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Bear Rocks is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Rocks
    • Laurelville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Laurelville is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelville
    • Ohiopyle
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Everson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Everson is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
    • Connellsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • South Connellsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Sitka
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Sitka is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sitka
    • Dunbar
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Indiana County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Acosta, with the one closest to Acosta listed first.
    • Robinson
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Robinson is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
    • Armagh
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Dilltown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Blairsville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Heshbon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Heshbon is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heshbon
    • Palmertown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Wehrum
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Wehrum is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wehrum
    • Black Lick
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Black Lick is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Lick
    • Claghorn ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Claghorn is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claghorn
    • Josephine
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Josephine is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Josephine
    • Coral
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Graceton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Graceton is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graceton
  • Westmoreland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Acosta, with the one closest to Acosta listed first.
    • Laughlintown
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Laurel Mountain
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Laurel Mountain is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Mountain
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 153 people
      • Laurel Mountain has also been known as:
      • Laurel Mountain Park
    • Rector
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Ligonier
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Oak Grove
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Oak Grove is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Stahlstown
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Darlington
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Darlington is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darlington
    • West Fairfield
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • West Fairfield is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Fairfield
    • Donegal
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • New Florence
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Derry
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Derry is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derry
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,495 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Derry <1>
    • Kingston
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Kingston is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
  • Allegany County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Acosta, with the one closest to Acosta listed first.
    • Mount Savage
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Barrelville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Barrelville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrelville
  • Garrett County (MD)
    • Grantsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Acosta ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Acosta.

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 Acosta - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Garden of Memories Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Schmucker Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Friedline Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Lichty Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • St. Stanislaus Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Jenners Crossroads Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Mt. Carmel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Weller Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Friedens Luthern Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friedens Luthern Church Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Friedens Luthern Church Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Friedens.
    • The Friedens Luthern Church Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Friedens Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2207909 <2>
  • St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (179 more) ...
    • Husband Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Union Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Old Calvary Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<3>

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

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

  • Sipesville
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Sipesville is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipesville
  • Gideon
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Gideon is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gideon
  • Edie
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Edie is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edie
  • Jenners Crossroads
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jenners Crossroads is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenners Crossroads
  • Jennerstown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Husband
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Husband is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Husband
  • Geiger
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Geiger is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geiger
  • Friedens
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Glessner
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Glessner is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glessner
  • Coleman
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Coleman is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman
  • Stoystown
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Lavansville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Lavansville is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavansville
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Somerset
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Mostoller
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Mostoller is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mostoller
    • Lambertsville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Lambertsville is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambertsville

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

Newspapers Published in Acosta ...

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 41 newspapers that have been published in the area around Acosta.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Acosta, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Acosta.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Acosta:

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<3>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Acosta, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Acosta) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.