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 Alum Bank (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 Alum Bank. 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.
Alum Bank is located in Bedford 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 Bedford County: Allegany (MD), Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon & Somerset.
Below are the counties that are near Alum Bank. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Alum Bank:
- Bedford County (The home county of Alum Bank)
- The following are listed by their distance from Alum Bank, with the one closest to Alum Bank listed first.
- Pleasantville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Pleasantville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasantville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 205 people
- Osterburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Pavia
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Pavia is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pavia
- New Paris
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Saint Clairsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Clairsville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clairsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 75 people
- King
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- King is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King
- Salemville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Salemville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salemville
- New Enterprise
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- New Enterprise is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Enterprise
- Schellsburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Wolfsburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Wolfsburg is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfsburg
- Maria
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Maria is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maria
- Yount
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Yount is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yount
- Loysburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Blair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alum Bank, with the one closest to Alum Bank listed first.
- Cotton Town
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cotton Town is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Town
- Claysburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Blue Knob
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Blue Knob is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Knob
- Puzzletown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Puzzletown is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puzzletown
- Roaring Spring
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Brooks Mill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Brooks Mill is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks Mill
- East Sharpsburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- East Sharpsburg is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sharpsburg
- Martinsburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Newry
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Clover Creek
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Clover Creek is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Creek
- Duncansville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Cross Keys
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cross Keys is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Keys
- Hollidaysburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cambria County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alum Bank, with the one closest to Alum Bank listed first.
- Dunlo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dunlo is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlo
- Beaverdale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Beaverdale is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaverdale
- Salix
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Salix is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salix
- Puritan
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Puritan is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puritan
- Sidman
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Spring Hill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Spring Hill is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
- Saint Michael
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Michael is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Michael
- Scalp Level
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Scalp Level is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scalp Level
- Population from the 2020 Census: 691 people
- Portage
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Sonman
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Sonman is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonman
- Bens Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Bens Creek is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bens Creek
- Ehrenfeld
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ehrenfeld is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ehrenfeld
- Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
- Geistown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Geistown is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geistown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,242 people
- Fulton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alum Bank, with the one closest to Alum Bank listed first.
- Wells Tannery
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Wells Tannery is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells Tannery
- Valley-Hi
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Valley-Hi is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley-Hi
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15 people
- Crystal Spring
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Crystal Spring is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Spring
- Akersville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Akersville is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akersville
- Emmaville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Emmaville is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmaville
- Laidig
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Laidig is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laidig
- Waterfall
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Sipes Mill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Sipes Mill is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipes Mill
- Huntingdon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alum Bank, with the one closest to Alum Bank listed first.
- Coalmont
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Coalmont is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalmont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Middletown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Middletown is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
- Dudley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Dudley is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dudley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 176 people
- Broad Top City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Broad Top City is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broad Top City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 443 people
- Entriken
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Salter
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Salter is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salter
- Robertsdale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Robertsdale is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robertsdale
- Cooks
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Cooks is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks
- Marklesburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Marklesburg is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marklesburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 194 people
- Joller ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Joller is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joller
- Todd
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Todd is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Todd
- Kimmel
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Kimmel is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimmel
- Rocky Ridge ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Rocky Ridge is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ridge
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alum Bank, with the one closest to Alum Bank listed first.
- Rexis
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Rexis is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rexis
- Wehrum
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Wehrum is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wehrum
- Armagh
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dilltown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alum Bank, with the one closest to Alum Bank listed first.
- Ogletown
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Ogletown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogletown
- Central City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Windber
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Forward
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Forward is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forward
- Paint
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Paint is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paint
- Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
- Buckstown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Buckstown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckstown
- New Baltimore
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- New Baltimore is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Baltimore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 167 people
- Blough
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Blough is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blough
- Hooversville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Hooversville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooversville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 589 people
- Indian Lake
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Indian Lake is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 375 people
- Benson
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Benson is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 184 people
- Hollsopple
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Davidsville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alum Bank, with the one closest to Alum Bank listed first.
- Robb
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Robb is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robb
- Seward
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- New Florence
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- West Fairfield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- West Fairfield is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Fairfield
- Laughlintown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Laurel Mountain
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- 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
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Alum Bank, see our County-by-County Page for Alum Bank.
Cemeteries Near Alum Bank ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alum Bank.
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 Alum Bank - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Alum Bank covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Alum Bank, with the one closest to Alum Bank listed first.
- Friends Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Fishertown Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Stiefler Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Schellsburg Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schellsburg Cemetery
- The Schellsburg Cemetery has also been known as:
- Chestnut Ridge Cemetery
- Old Log Church Cemetery
- Union Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1964953 <2>
- St.s Peter & Paul Byzantine Catholic Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bedford Memorial Gardens
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Burger Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Holsinger Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Josephs Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Josephs Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northwest of Beaverdale.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2171430 <2>
- Potter Creek Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Continue List (200 more) ...
- Dunmyer Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hetrick Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Keagy Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Alum Bank had a population of 257 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Alum Bank, with the one closest to Alum Bank listed first.
- Spring Meadow
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Spring Meadow is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Meadow
- Lovely
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Lovely is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovely
- Fishertown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Osterburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Springhope
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Springhope is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springhope
- Pavia
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Pavia is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pavia
- Crumb
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Crumb is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crumb
- New Paris
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Point
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Point is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point
- Cessna
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cessna is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cessna
- Saint Clairsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Clairsville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clairsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 75 people
- Queen
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Queen is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queen
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Helixville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Helixville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helixville
- Oppenheimer
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Oppenheimer is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oppenheimer
- King
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- King is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Alum Bank. See our List of 1890's Communities around Alum Bank.
Newspapers Published in Alum Bank ...
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 39 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alum Bank.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Alum Bank, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Alum Bank.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Alum Bank:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Bedford County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blair County
- Cambria County
- Fulton County
- Huntingdon County
- Indiana County
- Somerset 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> | 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 Alum Bank, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Alum Bank) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |