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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 Austin (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 Austin. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Austin is located in Potter 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 Potter County: Allegany (NY), Steuben (NY), Cameron, Clinton, Lycoming, McKean & Tioga.

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

  • Potter County     (The home county of Austin)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Austin, with the one closest to Austin listed first.
    • Inez
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Ayers Hill
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ayers Hill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayers Hill
      • Ayers Hill is located in Potter County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ayers Hill
      • From Austin to Ayers Hill
    • Coudersport
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Roulette
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Sweden Valley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Hebron
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hebron. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
      • Hebron is located in Potter County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hebron
      • From Austin to Hebron
    • Williston
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Williston. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williston
      • Williston is located in Potter County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Williston
      • From Austin to Williston
    • Coneville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Coneville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coneville
      • Coneville is located in Potter County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Coneville
      • From Austin to Coneville
    • New Bergen ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Bergen have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bergen
      • New Bergen is located in Potter County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 818 people
    • Millport
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Oswayo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Brookland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brookland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookland
      • Brookland is located in Potter County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Brookland
      • From Austin to Brookland
  • Cameron County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Austin, with the one closest to Austin listed first.
    • Emporium
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emporium have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emporium
      • Emporium is located in Cameron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,770 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Emporium <2>
    • Cameron
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Weber City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weber City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weber City
      • Weber City is located in Cameron County
    • Huntley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Beechwood
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Beechwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechwood
      • Beechwood is located in Cameron County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Beechwood
      • From Austin to Beechwood
    • Driftwood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Wyside
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wyside. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyside
      • Wyside is located in Cameron County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wyside
      • From Austin to Wyside
  • Clinton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Austin, with the one closest to Austin listed first.
    • Hammersley Fork
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Bitumen
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Cooks Run
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cooks Run. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Run
      • Cooks Run is located in Clinton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cooks Run
      • From Austin to Cooks Run
    • Westport
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Keating
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Keating. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keating
      • Keating is located in Clinton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Keating
      • From Austin to Keating
    • Renovo
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • South Renovo
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Renovo have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Renovo
      • South Renovo is located in Clinton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 422 people
    • Farwell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • North Bend
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Elk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Austin, with the one closest to Austin listed first.
    • Dents Run
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dents Run. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dents Run
      • Dents Run is located in Elk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dents Run
      • From Austin to Dents Run
    • Grant
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Grant. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant
      • Grant is located in Elk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Grant
      • From Austin to Grant
    • Instanter
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Instanter have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Instanter
      • Instanter is located in Elk County
    • Benezette
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Saint Marys
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Marys have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Marys
      • Saint Marys is located in Elk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,157 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Marys <2>
    • Streights
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Streights. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Streights
      • Streights is located in Elk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Streights
      • From Austin to Streights
    • Caledonia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Caledonia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caledonia
      • Caledonia is located in Elk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Caledonia
      • From Austin to Caledonia
  • McKean County
  • Tioga County
  • Allegany County (NY)
  • Cattaraugus County (NY)
    • Portville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Portville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portville
      • Portville is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 941 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Portville <2>

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

Cemeteries Near Austin ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Austin.

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 Austin covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Forksville Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Forksville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Forksville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Costello Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Costello Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Costello Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Joseph Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rees Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rees Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rees Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Moores Run Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Moores Run Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Moores Run Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Reed Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Reed Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Reed Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Anson Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Anson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Anson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wharton Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wharton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wharton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Brooks Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brooks Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brooks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jackson Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jackson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jackson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Eulalias Catholic Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Ayers Hill Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ayers Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ayers Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (70 more) ...
    • Lyman Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lyman Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lyman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Newton Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Newton Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Newton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • St. Marks Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marks Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Austin had a population of 1,679 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Austin had a population of 528 people.

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

  • Costello
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Costello have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Costello
    • Costello is located in Potter County
  • Odin
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Odin have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odin
    • Odin is located in Potter County
  • Sizerville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sizerville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sizerville
    • Sizerville is located in Cameron County
  • Gardeau
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Wharton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wharton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wharton
    • Wharton is located in Potter County
  • Inez
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Mina
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mina have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mina
    • Mina is located in Potter County
  • Logue
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Logue have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logue
    • Logue is located in Potter County
  • Olmsted
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olmsted have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olmsted
    • Olmsted is located in Potter County
  • Knowlton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Knowlton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knowlton
    • Knowlton is located in Potter County
  • Ayers Hill
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ayers Hill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayers Hill
    • Ayers Hill is located in Potter County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Ayers Hill
    • From Austin to Ayers Hill
  • Roulette
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Conrad
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Conrad have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conrad
      • Conrad is located in Potter County
    • Coudersport
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Emporium
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emporium have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emporium
      • Emporium is located in Cameron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,770 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Emporium <2>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Austin ...

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 110 newspapers that have been published in the area around Austin.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Austin. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Austin and those printed in the larger area surrounding Austin.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<5> of Austin.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Austin:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Austin. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<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 Austin, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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- Austin) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Austin. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.6310, Longitude: -78.0917    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025