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 Atwood (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 Atwood. 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.
Atwood is located in Armstrong 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 Armstrong County: Allegheny, Butler, Clarion, Indiana, Jefferson & Westmoreland.
Below are the counties that are near Atwood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Atwood:
- Armstrong County (The home county of Atwood)
- The following are listed by their distance from Atwood, with the one closest to Atwood listed first.
- Rural Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Barnards
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Barnards is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnards
- Bryan
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Bryan is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan
- Yatesboro
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Yatesboro is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yatesboro
- Elderton
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Blanco
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Blanco is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanco
- Echo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Echo is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
- Whitesburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Whitesburg is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesburg
- Oscar
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Oscar is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oscar
- Dayton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Muff
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Muff is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muff
- Cochrans Mills
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cochrans Mills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrans Mills
- Tunnelville ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Tunnelville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnelville
- Allegheny County
- The following are listed by their distance from Atwood, with the one closest to Atwood listed first.
- Sligo
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Sligo is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sligo
- Karns
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Karns is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Karns
- Natrona
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Natrona is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natrona
- Brackenridge
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Tarentum
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Plum
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Plum is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum
- Population from the 2020 Census: 26,993 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plum <1>
- Springdale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Atwood, with the one closest to Atwood listed first.
- Leasureville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Leasureville is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leasureville
- Monroe
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Monroe is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
- Dennys Mills
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Dennys Mills is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennys Mills
- Fenelton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Kepples Corners
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Kepples Corners is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kepples Corners
- Ekastown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Ekastown is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ekastown
- Chicora
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Great Belt
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Great Belt is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Belt
- Saint Joe
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Saint Joe is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Joe
- Karns City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Millerstown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Millerstown is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerstown
- Herman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Saxonburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Cambria County
- The following are listed by their distance from Atwood, with the one closest to Atwood listed first.
- Garmantown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Garmantown is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garmantown
- White Mill Crossing
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- White Mill Crossing is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Mill Crossing
- Barnesboro
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Barnesboro is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnesboro
- Nicktown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Nicktown is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicktown
- West Branch
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- West Branch is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Branch
- Belsano
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Belsano is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belsano
- Northern Cambria
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Northern Cambria is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northern Cambria
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,456 people
- Spangler
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Spangler is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spangler
- Twin Rocks
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Vintondale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Vintondale is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vintondale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 367 people
- Elmora
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Elmora is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmora
- Cardiff
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cardiff is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardiff
- Colver
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Clarion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Atwood, with the one closest to Atwood listed first.
- Fairmont City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- New Bethlehem
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Hawthorn
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Leatherwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Leatherwood is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherwood
- Lawsonham
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lawsonham is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonham
- Piolett
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Piolett is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piolett
- Brinkerton
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Brinkerton is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brinkerton
- Phillipston
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Phillipston is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillipston
- Rimersburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Crates
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Crates is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crates
- Frogtown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Frogtown is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frogtown
- Catfish
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Catfish is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catfish
- East Brady
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Clearfield County
- The following are listed by their distance from Atwood, with the one closest to Atwood listed first.
- Burnside
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Burnside is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnside
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Sylvis
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Sylvis is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvis
- Mahaffey
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- New Washington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- New Washington is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Washington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
- Newburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Newburg is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
- Westover
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Westover is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westover
- Population from the 2020 Census: 374 people
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Atwood, with the one closest to Atwood listed first.
- Beyer
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Beyer is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beyer
- Willet
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Willet is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willet
- Davis
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Davis is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
- Plumville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Plumville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 286 people
- Creekside
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Creekside is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creekside
- Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
- Shelocta
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Chambersville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Chambersville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambersville
- Kimmel
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Kimmel is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimmel
- Ambrose
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Ambrose is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ambrose
- Smicksburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Gilpin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Gilpin is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilpin
- Home
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Home is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home
- Elkin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Elkin is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkin
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Atwood, with the one closest to Atwood listed first.
- Valier
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Valier is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valier
- Timblin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Timblin is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timblin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
- Worthville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Worthville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
- Punxsutawney
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Langville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Langville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langville
- Pansy
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Pansy is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pansy
- Oliveburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Oliveburg is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oliveburg
- Albion
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Albion is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Coolspring
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Winslow
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Winslow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winslow
- Ohl
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Ohl is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ohl
- Green Valley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Green Valley is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Valley
- Panic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Panic is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panic
- Lawrence County
- Big Run
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Big Run is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Run
- Population from the 2020 Census: 594 people
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Atwood, with the one closest to Atwood listed first.
- Avonmore
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- East Vandergrift
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- East Vandergrift is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Vandergrift
- Population from the 2020 Census: 631 people
- Hyde Park
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Vandergrift
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Livermore
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Livermore is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livermore
- Oklahoma
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Oklahoma is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oklahoma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 739 people
- Salina
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- West Leechburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- West Leechburg is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leechburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,211 people
- Weinel Crossroads
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Weinel Crossroads is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weinel Crossroads
- Bagdad
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Bagdad is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagdad
- Burrell
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Burrell is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burrell
- North Washington
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- North Washington is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Washington
- Slickville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Slickville is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slickville
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Atwood, see our County-by-County Page for Atwood.
Cemeteries Near Atwood ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Atwood.
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 Atwood - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Atwood covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Atwood, with the one closest to Atwood listed first.
- Harmony Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony Grove Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Harmony Grove Cemetery is located between<2> the communities of Beyer and Shelocta. The cemetery lies 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the south of Beyer.
- The Harmony Grove Cemetery has also been known as:
- Five Points Lutheran Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #45039 <4>
- Plum Creek Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Sacred Heart Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Dunkard Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Speedy Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Crooked Creek Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Old Washington Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Smicksburg Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Dayton Glad Run Presbyterian Church Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- South Bend Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (197 more) ...
- Shaeffer Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Union Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Oakland Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Atwood had a population of 185 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Atwood had a population of 100 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Atwood, with the one closest to Atwood listed first.
- Advance
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Advance is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Advance
- Willet
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Willet is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willet
- Rural Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Elderton
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Bryan
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Bryan is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan
- Creekside
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Creekside is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creekside
- Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
- Davis
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Davis is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
- Plumville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Plumville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 286 people
- Barnards
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Barnards is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnards
- Blanco
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Blanco is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanco
- Shelocta
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Chambersville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Chambersville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambersville
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Kimmel
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Kimmel is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimmel
- Denton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Denton is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denton
- Ambrose
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Ambrose is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ambrose
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Atwood. See our List of 1890's Communities around Atwood.
Newspapers Published in Atwood ...
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 27 newspapers that have been published in the area around Atwood.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Atwood, 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 Atwood.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Atwood:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Armstrong County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegheny County
- Butler County
- Cambria County
- Clarion County
- Clearfield County
- Indiana County
- Jefferson County
- Lawrence 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> | To help visualize the location of the cemetery, we've drawn a straight line between the communities of Beyer and Shelocta. The cemetery can be found near that line and roughly halfway between the two communities. Remember that this is just an approximate location. |
| <3> | 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 from Point A (ie- Atwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Atwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |