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 Allen (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 Allen. 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 and doctors 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.
Allen is located in Cumberland 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 Cumberland County: Adams, Dauphin, Franklin, Perry & York.
Below are the counties that are near Allen. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Allen:
- Cumberland County (The home county of Allen)
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Boiling Springs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Roxbury
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Roxbury is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxbury
- New Kingstown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Trindle Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Trindle Springs is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trindle Springs
- Craighead
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Craighead is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craighead
- Mechanicsburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Middlesex
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Middlesex is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlesex
- Allenview
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Allenview is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allenview
- Carlisle
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Holly Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Shiremanstown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Shiremanstown is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiremanstown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,641 people
- Sporting Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Sporting Hill is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sporting Hill
- Schlusser
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Schlusser is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schlusser
- Adams County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Latimore
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Latimore is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latimore
- York Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Gargol
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Gargol is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gargol
- Lake Meade
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Lake Meade is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Meade
- Gardners
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Idaville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Idaville is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idaville
- Aspers
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Heidlersburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Heidlersburg is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heidlersburg
- Bendersville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- East Berlin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Hampton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Hampton is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton
- Guernsey
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Guernsey is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guernsey
- Plainview
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Plainview is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainview
- Allegheny County
- Bloomfield
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Bloomfield is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,255 people
- Dauphin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Steelton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Harrisburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Hillside Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Hillside Village is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillside Village
- Edgemont
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Paxtang
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Paxtang is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxtang
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,546 people
- Penbrook
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Penbrook is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penbrook
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,976 people
- Highspire
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Fort Hunter
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Fort Hunter is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Hunter
- Lucknow
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Lucknow is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucknow
- Progress
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Progress is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Progress
- Bloomburg Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bloomburg Village is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomburg Village
- Dauphin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lawnton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lawnton is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawnton
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Mowersville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Mowersville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mowersville
- Caledonia Park
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Caledonia Park is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caledonia Park
- Mount Union
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Union is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Union
- Orrstown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Pinola
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Pinola is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinola
- Brownsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Brownsville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Fayetteville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Green Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Green Village is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Village
- Roxbury
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Roxbury is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxbury
- Juniata County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Locust Run
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Locust Run is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Run
- Thompsontown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Mexico
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mexico is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexico
- Old Port
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Old Port is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Port
- Port Royal
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Seven Stars
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Seven Stars is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
- East Rutherford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- East Rutherford is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Rutherford
- Lancaster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Falmouth
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Falmouth is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falmouth
- Billmeyer ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Billmeyer is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billmeyer
- Aberdeen
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Aberdeen is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aberdeen
- Elizabethtown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Maytown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Rheems
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Rheems is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rheems
- Florin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Florin is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florin
- Marietta
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Milton Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Milton Grove is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton Grove
- Mount Joy
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Lebanon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Campbelltown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Palmyra
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lawn
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Syner
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Syner is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Syner
- Colebrook
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Colebrook is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colebrook
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Cove
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Cove is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove
- Marysville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Perdix
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Perdix is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perdix
- Falling Spring
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Falling Spring is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falling Spring
- Mecks Corner
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Mecks Corner is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mecks Corner
- Duncannon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Rose Glen
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Rose Glen is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Glen
- Alinda
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Alinda is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alinda
- Landisburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Blain
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Elliottsburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Elliottsburg is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliottsburg
- New Buffalo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- New Buffalo is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Buffalo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
- Bailey
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Bailey is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey
- York County
- The following are listed by their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Siddonsburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Siddonsburg is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siddonsburg
- Dillsburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Uniontown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Uniontown is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
- Andersontown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Andersontown is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andersontown
- Mount Top
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Top is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Top
- Nauvoo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Nauvoo is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nauvoo
- Rudytown ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Rudytown is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rudytown
- Wellsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Rossville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rossville is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossville
- Lewisberry
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- New Market
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- New Market is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Market
- Alpine
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Alpine is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine
- Erney
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Erney is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erney
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Allen, see our County-by-County Page for Allen.
Cemeteries Near Allen ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Allen.
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 Allen - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Allen covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Bakers Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Springville Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Longsdorf Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Dillsburg Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Chestnut Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Letort Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Letort Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Letort Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of Carlisle.
- The Letort Cemetery has also been known as:
- Kutz Cemetery
- Kutz's Cemetery
- Letort UMC Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1965543 <2>
- Cumberland County Home Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Ashland Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Holly Springs Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- War of 1812 Memorial Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Union Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (203 more) ...
- Lantz Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Westminister Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Myers Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
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 Allen in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Allen.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Allen, with the one closest to Allen listed first.
- Leidighs
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Leidighs is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leidighs
- Brandtsville
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Brandtsville is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandtsville
- Boiling Springs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Williams Grove
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Williams Grove is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams Grove
- Craighead
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Craighead is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craighead
- Hatton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hatton is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
- Trindle Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Trindle Springs is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trindle Springs
- Dillsburg Junction
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Dillsburg Junction is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dillsburg Junction
- New Kingstown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Bowmansdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Bowmansdale is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowmansdale
- Middlesex
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Middlesex is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlesex
- Mechanicsburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (20 more) ...
- Bonny Brook
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Bonny Brook is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonny Brook
- Mount Holly Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Upper Mill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Upper Mill is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Mill
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Allen. See our List of 1890's Communities around Allen.
Newspapers Published in Allen ...
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 85 newspapers that have been published in the area around Allen.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Allen, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Allen.
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 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 Allen:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Cumberland County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Adams County
- Allegheny County
- Dauphin County
- Franklin County
- Juniata County
- Lancaster County
- Lebanon County
- Perry County
- York 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> | 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 Allen, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Allen) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |