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 Alcola (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 Alcola. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and 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.
Alcola is located in Clarion 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 Clarion County: Armstrong, Butler, Forest, Jefferson & Venango.
Below are the counties that are near Alcola. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Alcola:
- Clarion County (The home county of Alcola)
- The following are listed by their distance from Alcola, with the one closest to Alcola listed first.
- Hawthorn
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Fairmont City
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- New Bethlehem
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Brinkerton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Brinkerton is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brinkerton
- Leatherwood
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Leatherwood is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherwood
- Crates
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Crates is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crates
- Frogtown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Frogtown is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frogtown
- Piolett
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Piolett is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piolett
- Mechanicsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Mechanicsville is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsville
- Curllsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Curllsville is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curllsville
- Lawsonham
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Lawsonham is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonham
- Reidsburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Reidsburg is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reidsburg
- Rimersburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Armstrong County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alcola, with the one closest to Alcola listed first.
- Millville
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Millville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millville
- South Bethlehem
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- South Bethlehem is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bethlehem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 443 people
- McWilliams
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- McWilliams is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McWilliams
- Eddyville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Eddyville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eddyville
- Putneyville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Putneyville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putneyville
- Deanville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Deanville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deanville
- Dayton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Muff
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Muff is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muff
- Dee
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Dee is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dee
- Echo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Echo is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
- Tidal
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Tidal is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tidal
- Bryan
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Bryan is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan
- Oscar
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Oscar is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oscar
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alcola, with the one closest to Alcola listed first.
- Karns City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Kepples Corners
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Kepples Corners is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kepples Corners
- Petrolia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Petrolia is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petrolia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Bruin
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Bruin is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 489 people
- Fairview
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Fairview is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 186 people
- Fenelton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Chicora
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Millerstown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Millerstown is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerstown
- Saint Joe
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Saint Joe is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Joe
- Eau Claire
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- North Oakland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- North Oakland is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Oakland
- Dennys Mills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Dennys Mills is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennys Mills
- Cherry Valley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Cherry Valley is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Valley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 62 people
- Clearfield County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alcola, with the one closest to Alcola listed first.
- Helvetia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Helvetia is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helvetia
- Stanley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Stanley is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanley
- Troutville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Troutville is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troutville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Sandy
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Sandy is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy
- DuBois
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Luthersburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Burnside
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Burnside is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnside
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Mahaffey
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Elk County
- Millstone
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Millstone is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millstone
- Forest County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alcola, with the one closest to Alcola listed first.
- Clarington
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Redclyffe
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Redclyffe is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redclyffe
- Gilfoyle
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Gilfoyle is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilfoyle
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alcola, with the one closest to Alcola listed first.
- Smicksburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Trade City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Trade City is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trade City
- Georgeville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Georgeville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgeville
- Beyer
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Beyer is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beyer
- Elkin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Elkin is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkin
- Marchand
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Marchand is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marchand
- Mottarns Mill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mottarns Mill is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mottarns Mill
- Plumville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Plumville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 286 people
- Davis
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Davis is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
- Ambrose
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Ambrose is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ambrose
- Marion Center
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Rochester Mills
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Rochester Mills is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester Mills
- Rossiter
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alcola, with the one closest to Alcola listed first.
- Langville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Langville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langville
- Pansy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Pansy is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pansy
- Worthville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Worthville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
- Timblin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Timblin is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timblin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
- Ohl
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Ohl is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ohl
- Summerville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Summerville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 501 people
- Coolspring
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Baxter
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Baxter is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
- Corsica
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Corsica is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corsica
- Population from the 2020 Census: 342 people
- Green Valley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Green Valley is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Valley
- Oliveburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Oliveburg is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oliveburg
- Brookville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Valier
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Valier is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valier
- Lawrence County
- Big Run
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- 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 Alcola, with the one closest to Alcola listed first.
- Nickleville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Nickleville is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nickleville
- Fertigs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Fertigs is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fertigs
- Emlenton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Hill City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hill City is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill City
- Eakin Corner
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Eakin Corner is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eakin Corner
- Coal Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Coal Hill is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Hill
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alcola, with the one closest to Alcola listed first.
- Bagdad
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bagdad is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagdad
- Hyde Park
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Alcola, see our County-by-County Page for Alcola.
Cemeteries Near Alcola ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alcola.
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 Alcola - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Alcola covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Alcola, with the one closest to Alcola listed first.
- New Bethlehem Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Oakland Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Paradise Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Zion Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Smith Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- St. Nicholas Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Jerusalem Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Vandervort Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Westview Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Conifer Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Carrier Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- 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<3> to the southeast of Summerville.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #44528 <2>
- Calvary Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Continue List (162 more) ...
- Duncan Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Dayton Glad Run Presbyterian Church Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Coolspring Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coolspring Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Coolspring Cemetery is located outside and to the south of Coolspring.
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 Alcola in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Alcola.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Alcola, with the one closest to Alcola listed first.
- Fairmont City
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- New Bethlehem
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- McWilliams
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- McWilliams is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McWilliams
- Truittsburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Truittsburg is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truittsburg
- Putneyville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Putneyville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putneyville
- Eddyville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Eddyville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eddyville
- North Freedom
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- North Freedom is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Freedom
- Shannondale
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Shannondale is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shannondale
- Brinkerton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Brinkerton is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brinkerton
- Leatherwood
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Leatherwood is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherwood
- Frogtown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Frogtown is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frogtown
- Ringgold
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Ringgold is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ringgold
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Langville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Langville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langville
- Crates
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Crates is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crates
- Piolett
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Piolett is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piolett
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Alcola. See our List of 1890's Communities around Alcola.
Newspapers Published in Alcola ...
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 40 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alcola.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Alcola, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Alcola.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Alcola:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Clarion County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Armstrong County
- Butler County
- Clearfield County
- Elk County
- Forest County
- Indiana County
- Jefferson County
- Lawrence County
- Venango County
- Westmoreland 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> | 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> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Alcola) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Alcola, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |