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 Alaska (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 Alaska. 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 and doctors 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.
Alaska is located in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County: Armstrong, Clarion, Clearfield, Elk, Forest & Indiana.
Below are the counties that are near Alaska. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Alaska:
- Jefferson County (The home county of Alaska)
- The following are listed by their distance from Alaska, with the one closest to Alaska listed first.
- Brookville
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Howe
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Howe is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howe
- Baxter
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Baxter is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
- Corsica
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Corsica is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corsica
- Population from the 2020 Census: 342 people
- Hazen
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Hazen is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazen
- Sigel
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Summerville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Summerville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 501 people
- Warsaw
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Warsaw is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warsaw
- Ohl
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ohl is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ohl
- Green Valley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Green Valley is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Valley
- Fuller
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Fuller is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Allens Mills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Allens Mills is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Mills
- Armstrong County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alaska, with the one closest to Alaska listed first.
- Millville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Millville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millville
- McWilliams
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- McWilliams is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McWilliams
- South Bethlehem
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- South Bethlehem is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bethlehem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 443 people
- Eddyville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Eddyville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eddyville
- Putneyville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Putneyville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putneyville
- Dayton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Deanville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Deanville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deanville
- Muff
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Muff is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muff
- Dee
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Dee is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dee
- Barnards
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Barnards is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnards
- Bryan
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bryan is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan
- Echo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Echo is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
- Clarion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alaska, with the one closest to Alaska listed first.
- Day
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Day is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Day
- Crates
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Crates is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crates
- Waterson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Waterson is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterson
- Cooksburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Frogtown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Frogtown is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frogtown
- Mechanicsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Mechanicsville is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsville
- Strattanville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Helen Furnace
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Helen Furnace is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helen Furnace
- Hawthorn
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Brinkerton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Brinkerton is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brinkerton
- Clarion
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Arthurs
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Arthurs is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthurs
- Clearfield County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alaska, with the one closest to Alaska listed first.
- DuBois
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Sandy
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Sandy is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy
- Stanley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Stanley is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanley
- Helvetia
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Helvetia is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helvetia
- Treasure Lake
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Treasure Lake is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Treasure Lake
- Troutville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Troutville is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troutville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Luthersburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Rockton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Rockton is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockton
- Winterburn
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Winterburn is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winterburn
- Laborde
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Laborde is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laborde
- Curry Run
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Curry Run is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curry Run
- Mahaffey
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Elk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alaska, with the one closest to Alaska listed first.
- Millstone
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Millstone is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millstone
- Lake City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hallton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hallton is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallton
- Brockport
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Horton City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Horton City is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton City
- Shawmut
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Shawmut is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawmut
- Challenge
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Challenge is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Challenge
- Kylers Corners
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Kylers Corners is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kylers Corners
- Ridgway
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Whistletown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Whistletown is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whistletown
- Russell City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Russell City is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell City
- Dagus Mines
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dagus Mines is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dagus Mines
- Forest County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alaska, with the one closest to Alaska listed first.
- Clarington
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Redclyffe
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Redclyffe is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redclyffe
- Gilfoyle
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Gilfoyle is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilfoyle
- Roses
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Roses is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roses
- Marienville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Marienville is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marienville
- Iron City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Iron City is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Sheffield Junction
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Sheffield Junction is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheffield Junction
- Tionesta
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Balltown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Balltown is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balltown
- Jamison
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jamison is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamison
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alaska, with the one closest to Alaska listed first.
- Trade City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Trade City is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trade City
- Rossiter
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Marchand
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Marchand is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marchand
- Georgeville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Georgeville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgeville
- Mottarns Mill
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Mottarns Mill is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mottarns Mill
- Smicksburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Johnsonburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Johnsonburg is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsonburg
- Elkin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Elkin is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkin
- Rochester Mills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Rochester Mills is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester Mills
- Savan
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Savan is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savan
- Urey
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Urey is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urey
- Beyer
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Beyer is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beyer
- Lawrence County
- Big Run
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Big Run is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Run
- Population from the 2020 Census: 594 people
- Venango County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alaska, with the one closest to Alaska listed first.
- Fertigs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Fertigs is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fertigs
- Coal Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Coal Hill is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Hill
- Nickleville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Nickleville is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nickleville
- Hill City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hill City is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill City
- President
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- President is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for President
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Alaska, see our County-by-County Page for Alaska.
Cemeteries Near Alaska ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alaska.
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 Alaska - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Alaska covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Alaska, with the one closest to Alaska listed first.
- Butler Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Riggs Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Tabor Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Vandervort Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Carrier Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrier Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Carrier Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<2> to the southeast of Summerville.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #44528 <3>
- Conifer Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- St. Dominics Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Moorhead Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Westview Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Knoxdale Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (124 more) ...
- Moore Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Smith Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Calvary Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 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 Alaska in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Alaska.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Alaska, with the one closest to Alaska listed first.
- Brookville
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Coder
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Coder is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coder
- Howe
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Howe is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howe
- Baxter
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Baxter is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
- Content
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Content is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Content
- Corsica
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Corsica is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corsica
- Population from the 2020 Census: 342 people
- Summerville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Summerville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 501 people
- McGarey
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- McGarey is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGarey
- Stanton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Stanton is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanton
- Emerickville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Emerickville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerickville
- Hazen
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Hazen is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazen
- Richardsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Richardsville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richardsville
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Sigel
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Heathville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Heathville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heathville
- Ohl
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ohl is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ohl
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Alaska. See our List of 1890's Communities around Alaska.
Newspapers Published in Alaska ...
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 74 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alaska.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Alaska, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Alaska.
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 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 Alaska:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Jefferson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Armstrong County
- Clarion County
- Clearfield County
- Elk County
- Forest County
- Indiana County
- Lawrence County
- Venango County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Pennsylvania
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> | 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- Alaska) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Alaska, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |