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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 Avoca (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 Avoca. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Avoca is located in Luzerne 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 Luzerne County: Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Monroe, Schuylkill, Sullivan & Wyoming.

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

  • Luzerne County     (The home county of Avoca)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Avoca, with the one closest to Avoca listed first.
    • Houston City
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Houston City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston City
      • Houston City is located in Luzerne County
    • Duryea
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Duryea have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duryea
      • Duryea is located in Luzerne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,910 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Duryea <2>
    • Dupont
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dupont have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dupont
      • Dupont is located in Luzerne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,693 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dupont <2>
    • Langdon
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Langdon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langdon
      • Langdon is located in Luzerne County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Langdon
      • From Avoca to Langdon
    • Hughestown
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hughestown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughestown
      • Hughestown is located in Luzerne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,356 people
    • Pittston
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Yatesville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yatesville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yatesville
      • Yatesville is located in Luzerne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 613 people
    • West Pittston
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Laflin
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Exeter
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Exeter have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exeter
      • Exeter is located in Luzerne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,519 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Exeter <2>
    • Hilldale
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Port Blanchard
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Carbon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Avoca, with the one closest to Avoca listed first.
    • East Side
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Side have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Side
      • East Side is located in Carbon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 301 people
    • Albrightsville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Leslie Run
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Leslie Run. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leslie Run
      • Leslie Run is located in Carbon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Leslie Run
      • From Avoca to Leslie Run
    • Meckesville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Unionville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Penn Haven Junction
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Weatherly
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Coxes Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Hudsondale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hudsondale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudsondale
      • Hudsondale is located in Carbon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hudsondale
      • From Avoca to Hudsondale
    • Beaver Meadows
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaver Meadows have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Meadows
      • Beaver Meadows is located in Carbon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 832 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Beaver Meadows <2>
  • Lackawanna County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Avoca, with the one closest to Avoca listed first.
    • Belian Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belian Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belian Village
      • Belian Village is located in Lackawanna County
    • Lawrenceville
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Old Forge
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Forge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Forge
      • Old Forge is located in Lackawanna County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,838 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Old Forge <2>
    • Moosic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moosic have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moosic
      • Moosic is located in Lackawanna County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,813 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moosic <2>
    • Taylor
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Taylor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor
      • Taylor is located in Lackawanna County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,879 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Taylor <2>
    • Milwaukee
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Milwaukee. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milwaukee
      • Milwaukee is located in Lackawanna County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Milwaukee
      • From Avoca to Milwaukee
    • Scranton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Dunmore
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Green Ridge
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Green Ridge. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Ridge
      • Green Ridge is located in Lackawanna County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Green Ridge
      • From Avoca to Green Ridge
    • Spring Brook
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Clarks Summit
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarks Summit have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarks Summit
      • Clarks Summit is located in Lackawanna County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,843 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clarks Summit <2>
    • Dickson City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dickson City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickson City
      • Dickson City is located in Lackawanna County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,731 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dickson City <2>
  • Monroe County
  • Pike County
  • Susquehanna County
  • Wayne County
  • Wyoming County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Avoca, with the one closest to Avoca listed first.
    • Lake Winola
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • South Eaton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for South Eaton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Eaton
      • South Eaton is located in Wyoming County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to South Eaton
      • From Avoca to South Eaton
    • Vernon
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Mill City ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mill City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill City
      • Mill City is located in Wyoming County
    • Osterhout
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Beaumont
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Factoryville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Jenks
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Evans Falls
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Evans Falls. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans Falls
      • Evans Falls is located in Wyoming County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Evans Falls
      • From Avoca to Evans Falls
    • Dixon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dixon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
      • Dixon is located in Wyoming County
    • Tunkhannock
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tunkhannock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunkhannock
      • Tunkhannock is located in Wyoming County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,674 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tunkhannock <2>
    • Noxen
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Avoca ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Avoca.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Avoca, with the one closest to Avoca 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Avoca had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Avoca had a population of 2,603 people.

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

  • Dupont
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dupont have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dupont
    • Dupont is located in Luzerne County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,693 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dupont <2>
  • Pittston
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Moosic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moosic have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moosic
    • Moosic is located in Lackawanna County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,813 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moosic <2>
  • Old Forge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Forge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Forge
    • Old Forge is located in Lackawanna County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,838 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Old Forge <2>
  • West Pittston
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Sebastopol
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sebastopol have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sebastopol
    • Sebastopol is located in Luzerne County
  • Yatesville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yatesville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yatesville
    • Yatesville is located in Luzerne County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 613 people
  • Minooka
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Minooka have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minooka
    • Minooka is located in Lackawanna County
  • Harding
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harding have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harding
    • Harding is located in Luzerne County
  • Exeter
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Exeter have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exeter
    • Exeter is located in Luzerne County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,519 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Exeter <2>
  • Port Griffith
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Port Griffith have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Griffith
    • Port Griffith is located in Luzerne County
  • Inkerman
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Inkerman have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inkerman
    • Inkerman is located in Luzerne County
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Laflin
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Wyoming
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wyoming have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming
      • Wyoming is located in Luzerne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,004 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wyoming <2>
    • Port Blanchard
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Avoca ...

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 111 newspapers that have been published in the area around Avoca.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Avoca. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Avoca and those printed in the larger area surrounding Avoca.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<6> of Avoca.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Avoca:

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

The official website for Luzerne County: www.luzernecounty.org/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Avoca, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Avoca) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Avoca. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.3396, Longitude: -75.7404    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025