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 Bally (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 Bally. 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 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.
Bally is located in Berks 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 Berks County: Chester, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Montgomery & Schuylkill.
Below are the counties that are near Bally. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bally:
- Berks County (The home county of Bally)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bally, with the one closest to Bally listed first.
- Monocacy
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Monocacy is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monocacy
- Amity Gardens
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Amity Gardens is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amity Gardens
- Birdsboro
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Yellow House
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Yellow House is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow House
- Robeson Crossing
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Robeson Crossing is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robeson Crossing
- Stonersville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Stonersville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonersville
- Geigertown
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Geigertown is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geigertown
- Scarlets Mill
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Scarlets Mill is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scarlets Mill
- Ironstone
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ironstone is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironstone
- Exeter Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Exeter Village is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exeter Village
- Gibraltar
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Gibraltar is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibraltar
- Lorane
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lorane is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorane
- Brice Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Brice Village is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brice Village
- Bucks County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bally, with the one closest to Bally listed first.
- Argus
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Argus is located in Bucks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argus
- Trumbauersville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Milford Square
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Milford Square is located in Bucks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford Square
- Steinsburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Steinsburg is located in Bucks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steinsburg
- Derstines
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Derstines is located in Bucks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derstines
- Sellersville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Rich Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Rich Hill is located in Bucks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Hill
- Fairhill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Fairhill is located in Bucks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhill
- Fairhill has also been known as:
- Schnabletown
- Snoveltown
- Selsie Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Selsie Village is located in Bucks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selsie Village
- Quakertown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Shelly
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Shelly is located in Bucks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelly
- Zionhill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Zionhill is located in Bucks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zionhill
- Hilltop
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hilltop is located in Bucks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilltop
- Chester County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bally, with the one closest to Bally listed first.
- Pottstown Landing
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Pottstown Landing is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottstown Landing
- South Pottstown
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- South Pottstown is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Pottstown
- Knauertown
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Knauertown is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knauertown
- Coventryville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Coventryville is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coventryville
- Kenilworth
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Kenilworth is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenilworth
- Bucktown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bucktown is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucktown
- Pughtown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pughtown is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pughtown
- Nantmeal Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Nantmeal Village is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nantmeal Village
- Slonaker
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Slonaker is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slonaker
- Elverson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fricks Lock
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Fricks Lock is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fricks Lock
- Loag
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Loag is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loag
- Isabella
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Isabella is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isabella
- Delaware County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bally, with the one closest to Bally listed first.
- Edgemont
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Edgemont is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgemont
- Radnor Station
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Radnor Station is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radnor Station
- Radnor
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Davids
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Wayne
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Green Countrie Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Ithan
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Ithan is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ithan
- Glen Mills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Marple
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Marple is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marple
- Montrose Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Montrose Village is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montrose Village
- Broomall
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Chester Heights
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Lima
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Lima is located in Delaware County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lima
- Indiana County
- Ernest
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Ernest is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ernest
- Population from the 2020 Census: 431 people
- Lancaster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bally, with the one closest to Bally listed first.
- Churchtown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Beartown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Beartown is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beartown
- Terre Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Blue Ball
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- East Earl
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Meadville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Meadville is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadville
- Weaverland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Weaverland is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weaverland
- Red Run
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Red Run is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Run
- Reamstown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- New Holland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Blainsport
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Blainsport is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blainsport
- Denver
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Hinkletown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Hinkletown is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinkletown
- Lebanon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bally, with the one closest to Bally listed first.
- Newmanstown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Sheridan
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Sheridan is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheridan
- Stricklerstown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Stricklerstown is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stricklerstown
- Richland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Schaefferstown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Johnstown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Johnstown is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
- Myerstown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Lehigh County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bally, with the one closest to Bally listed first.
- Hensingersville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Hensingersville is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hensingersville
- Hosensack
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Hosensack is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hosensack
- Powder Valley
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Powder Valley is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powder Valley
- Alburtis
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Old Zionsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Old Zionsville is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Zionsville
- Zionsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Dillingerville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Dillingerville is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dillingerville
- Dillingerville has also been known as:
- Dillinger
- Dillingers Ville
- Dillingers
- Dillingersville
- Stahlers
- Macungie
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ancient Oaks
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Ancient Oaks is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ancient Oaks
- New Smithville
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- New Smithville is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Smithville
- Wallner ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Wallner is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallner
- Hynemansville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Hynemansville is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hynemansville
- Emmaus
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bally, with the one closest to Bally listed first.
- Bramcote
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Bramcote is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bramcote
- West Pottsgrove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- West Pottsgrove is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pottsgrove
- Stowe
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Pottstown
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Halfway House
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Halfway House is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halfway House
- Pottsgrove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Pottsgrove is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottsgrove
- Sanatoga
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Gilbertsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- New Hanover
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Fagleysville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Fagleysville is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fagleysville
- Royersford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Congo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Congo is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Congo
- Anise
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Anise is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anise
- Northampton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bally, with the one closest to Bally listed first.
- Leithsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Leithsville is located in Northampton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leithsville
- Seidersville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Seidersville is located in Northampton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seidersville
- Star Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Star Village is located in Northampton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star Village
- Philadelphia County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bally, with the one closest to Bally listed first.
- Highland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Highland is located in Philadelphia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
- Roxborough
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Roxborough is located in Philadelphia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxborough
- Schuylkill County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bally, with the one closest to Bally listed first.
- Port Clinton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Auburn
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Deer Lake
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Deer Lake is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 645 people
- Jefferson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jefferson is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- New Castle County (DE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bally, with the one closest to Bally listed first.
- Centreville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Ashland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Ashland is located in New Castle County (DE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Yorklyn
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bally, see our County-by-County Page for Bally.
Cemeteries Near Bally ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bally.
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 Bally - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bally covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bally, with the one closest to Bally listed first.
- Shenkel UCC Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Second Baptist Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- St. Michael's Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- St. Michaels Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Immaculate Conception Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Holy Trinity Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- St. Pauls UMC Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- St. James Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- DeTurk Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- St. Pauls Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Morningside Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (368 more) ...
- Pottstown Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Highland Memorial Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Hanawas Sachem Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
Nearby Communities in 1895 ...
We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Bally had a population of 362 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Bally had a population of 1,241 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bally, with the one closest to Bally listed first.
- Monocacy Station
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Monocacy Station is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monocacy Station
- Douglassville
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Monocacy
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Monocacy is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monocacy
- Bramcote
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Bramcote is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bramcote
- Baumstown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Baumstown is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baumstown
- Birdsboro
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- South Birdsboro
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- South Birdsboro is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Birdsboro
- Trythall
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Trythall is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trythall
- Saint Peters
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Cedarville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Cedarville is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- Stowe
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Yellow House
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Yellow House is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow House
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Scarlets Mill
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Scarlets Mill is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scarlets Mill
- Geigertown
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Geigertown is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geigertown
- Cold Run
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Cold Run is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Run
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bally. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bally.
Newspapers Published in Bally ...
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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bally.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bally, there are papers which were published within 8 miles [12.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bally.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Bally:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Berks County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bucks County
- Chester County
- Delaware County
- Indiana County
- Lancaster County
- Lebanon County
- Lehigh County
- Montgomery County
- Northampton County
- Philadelphia County
- Schuylkill County
- New Castle County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Pennsylvania
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com. |
| <3> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Bally, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Bally) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |