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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 Aristes (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 Aristes. 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.

Aristes is located in Columbia County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Columbia County: Luzerne, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Schuylkill & Sullivan.

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

  • Columbia County     (The home county of Aristes)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Aristes, with the one closest to Aristes listed first.
    • Centralia
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Locustdale
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Locustdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locustdale
      • Locustdale is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Locustdale <1>
    • Newlin
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Numidia
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Slabtown
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Slabtown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slabtown
      • Slabtown is located in Columbia County
    • Queen City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Queen City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queen City
      • Queen City is located in Columbia County
    • Shumans
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Shumans. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shumans
      • Shumans is located in Columbia County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Shumans
      • From Aristes to Shumans
    • Mainville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mainville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mainville
      • Mainville is located in Columbia County
    • Catawissa
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Almedia
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Espy
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Rupert
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rupert. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rupert
      • Rupert is located in Columbia County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rupert
      • From Aristes to Rupert
    • Bloomsburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Berks County
  • Carbon County
  • Dauphin County
  • Lebanon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Aristes, with the one closest to Aristes listed first.
    • Murray
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Murray. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murray
      • Murray is located in Lebanon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Murray
      • From Aristes to Murray
    • Inwood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Inwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inwood
      • Inwood is located in Lebanon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Inwood
      • From Aristes to Inwood
    • Fredericksburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fredericksburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredericksburg
      • Fredericksburg is located in Lebanon County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fredericksburg <1>
    • Greble
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Lickdale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lickdale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickdale
      • Lickdale is located in Lebanon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lickdale
      • From Aristes to Lickdale
    • Green Point
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Green Point. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Point
      • Green Point is located in Lebanon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Green Point
      • From Aristes to Green Point
    • Jonestown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jonestown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonestown
      • Jonestown is located in Lebanon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,031 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jonestown <1>
    • Mount Zion
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mount Zion. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
      • Mount Zion is located in Lebanon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mount Zion
      • From Aristes to Mount Zion
    • Fort Indiantown Gap
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Bunker Hill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bunker Hill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunker Hill
      • Bunker Hill is located in Lebanon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bunker Hill
      • From Aristes to Bunker Hill
    • Myerstown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Lehigh County
  • Luzerne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Aristes, with the one closest to Aristes listed first.
    • Newtown
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Newtown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
      • Newtown is located in Luzerne County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Newtown
      • From Aristes to Newtown
    • Mountain Grove
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Tomhicken
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tomhicken. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomhicken
      • Tomhicken is located in Luzerne County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tomhicken
      • From Aristes to Tomhicken
    • East Berwick
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Berwick have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Berwick
      • East Berwick is located in Luzerne County
    • Nescopeck
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nescopeck have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nescopeck
      • Nescopeck is located in Luzerne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,522 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nescopeck <1>
    • Conyngham
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Conyngham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conyngham
      • Conyngham is located in Luzerne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,858 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Conyngham <1>
    • Harwood
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Sybertsville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Beach Haven
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • West Hazleton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for West Hazleton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hazleton
      • West Hazleton is located in Luzerne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,318 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to West Hazleton
      • From Aristes to West Hazleton
    • Harleigh
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hazleton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Ebervale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Lycoming County
  • Montour County
  • Northumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Aristes, with the one closest to Aristes listed first.
    • Mount Carmel
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Carmel have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carmel
      • Mount Carmel is located in Northumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,708 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Carmel <1>
    • Alaska
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alaska have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alaska
      • Alaska is located in Northumberland County
    • Dooleyville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Locust Gap
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Natalie
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Bear Gap
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Marshallton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marshallton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshallton
      • Marshallton is located in Northumberland County
    • Gowen City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gowen City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowen City
      • Gowen City is located in Northumberland County
    • Elysburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elysburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elysburg
      • Elysburg is located in Northumberland County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elysburg <1>
    • Kulpmont
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kulpmont have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kulpmont
      • Kulpmont is located in Northumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,735 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kulpmont <1>
    • Shamokin
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Bear Valley
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Edgewood
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edgewood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewood
      • Edgewood is located in Northumberland County
  • Schuylkill County
  • Snyder County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Aristes, with the one closest to Aristes listed first.
    • Hummels Wharf
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hummels Wharf have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hummels Wharf
      • Hummels Wharf is located in Snyder County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hummels Wharf <1>
    • Shamokin Dam
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Dundore
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Selinsgrove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Selinsgrove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selinsgrove
      • Selinsgrove is located in Snyder County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,913 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Selinsgrove <1>
    • Port Trevorton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Kratzerville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kratzerville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kratzerville
      • Kratzerville is located in Snyder County
    • Chapman
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chapman have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapman
      • Chapman is located in Snyder County
  • Union County

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

Cemeteries Near Aristes ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Aristes.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

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.<5>

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

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

  • Centralia
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Wilburton
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilburton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilburton
    • Wilburton is located in Columbia County
  • Ashland
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Locustdale
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Locustdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locustdale
    • Locustdale is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Locustdale <1>
  • Fountain Springs
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Girardville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Girardville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girardville
    • Girardville is located in Schuylkill County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,434 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Girardville <1>
  • Mount Carmel
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Carmel have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carmel
    • Mount Carmel is located in Northumberland County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,708 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Carmel <1>
  • Locust Summit
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Locust Summit have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Summit
    • Locust Summit is located in Northumberland County
  • Lavelle
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Gordon
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Lost Creek
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Raven Run
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Raven Run. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raven Run
    • Raven Run is located in Schuylkill County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Raven Run
    • From Aristes to Raven Run
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Mill Grove
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mill Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Grove
      • Mill Grove is located in Columbia County
    • Strong
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Strong have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strong
      • Strong is located in Northumberland County
    • Alaska
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alaska have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alaska
      • Alaska is located in Northumberland County

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

Newspapers Published in Aristes ...

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 77 newspapers that have been published in the area around Aristes.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Aristes, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Aristes.

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 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 Aristes:

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 location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>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.
<5>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 Aristes, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Aristes) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Aristes. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.8197, Longitude: -76.3393