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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 Bard (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 Bard. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Bard is located in Bedford 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 Bedford County: Allegany (MD), Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon & Somerset.

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

  • Bedford County     (The home county of Bard)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bard, with the one closest to Bard listed first.
    • Kegg
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Kegg is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kegg
    • Manns Choice
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Schellsburg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Hyndman
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Charlesville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Charlesville is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlesville
    • Rainsburg
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Rainsburg is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
    • Bedford
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Wolfsburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Wolfsburg is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfsburg
    • Beans Cove
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Beans Cove is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Cove
    • Ott Town
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Ott Town is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ott Town
    • New Paris
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Cliffs ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Cliffs is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffs
  • Blair County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bard, with the one closest to Bard listed first.
    • Cotton Town
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Cotton Town is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Town
    • Claysburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Blue Knob
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Blue Knob is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Knob
  • Cambria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bard, with the one closest to Bard listed first.
    • Scalp Level
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Scalp Level is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scalp Level
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 691 people
    • Dunlo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Dunlo is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlo
    • Ingleside
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Ingleside is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleside
    • Salix
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Salix is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salix
    • Beaverdale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Beaverdale is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaverdale
    • Belmont
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Belmont is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
    • Geistown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Geistown is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geistown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,242 people
    • Saint Michael
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Saint Michael is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Michael
    • Sidman
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Ferndale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Lorain
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Lorain is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorain
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 680 people
    • Daisytown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Daisytown is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisytown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 290 people
  • Fulton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bard, with the one closest to Bard listed first.
    • Emmaville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Emmaville is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmaville
    • Crystal Spring
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Crystal Spring is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Spring
    • Akersville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Akersville is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akersville
    • Valley-Hi
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Valley-Hi is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley-Hi
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15 people
    • Dott
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Dott is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dott
    • Sipes Mill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Sipes Mill is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipes Mill
    • Needmore
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Warfordsburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Covalt
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Covalt is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covalt
    • Wells Tannery
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Wells Tannery is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells Tannery
    • Pleasant Ridge
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Pleasant Ridge is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Ridge
  • Somerset County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bard, with the one closest to Bard listed first.
    • New Baltimore
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • New Baltimore is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Baltimore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 167 people
    • Fairhope
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Johnsburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Downey
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Downey is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downey
    • Indian Lake
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Indian Lake is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 375 people
    • Buckstown
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Buckstown is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckstown
    • Central City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Shanksville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Berlin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Callimont
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Callimont is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Callimont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 38 people
    • Wellersburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Wellersburg is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellersburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
    • Boswell
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Allegany County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bard, with the one closest to Bard listed first.
    • Ellerslie
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Ellerslie is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellerslie
    • Flintstone
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Mount Savage Junction
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Mount Savage Junction is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Savage Junction
    • Corriganville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Corriganville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corriganville
    • Rush
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Rush is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rush
    • Barrelville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Barrelville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrelville
    • Cumberland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Mount Savage
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Shanty Town ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Shanty Town is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanty Town
    • La Vale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Town Creek ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Town Creek is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town Creek
    • Eckhart Mines
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Eckhart Mines is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eckhart Mines
  • Garrett County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bard, with the one closest to Bard listed first.
    • Avilton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Avilton is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avilton
    • Grantsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Washington County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bard, with the one closest to Bard listed first.
    • Pearre
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Pearre is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearre
    • Hancock
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Hancock is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancock
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,522 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hancock <1>
  • Hampshire County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bard, with the one closest to Bard listed first.
    • Okonoko
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Okonoko is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okonoko
    • Donaldson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Donaldson is located in Hampshire County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
  • Mineral County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bard, with the one closest to Bard listed first.
    • Ridgeley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Carpendale
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Carpendale is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpendale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 900 people
    • Wiley Ford
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Short Gap
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Short Gap is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Gap
    • Fort Ashby
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Morgan County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bard, with the one closest to Bard listed first.
    • Orleans Cross Roads
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Orleans Cross Roads is located in Morgan County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans Cross Roads
    • Doe Gully
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Doe Gully is located in Morgan County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doe Gully
    • Hansrote
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Hansrote is located in Morgan County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hansrote
    • Woodmont
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Woodmont is located in Morgan County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodmont
    • Magnolia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Magnolia is located in Morgan County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
    • Paw Paw
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Hancock
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Hancock is located in Morgan County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancock
    • Bath
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Bath is located in Morgan County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 587 people
    • Berkeley Springs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Bard ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bard.

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 Bard - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Camp Run Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Old Union Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Fellowship & Union Cemeteries
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Schellsburg Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schellsburg Cemetery
    • The Schellsburg Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Chestnut Ridge Cemetery
    • Old Log Church Cemetery
    • Union Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1964953 <2>
  • Sarver Church Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Growden Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Ruby Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Bedford Memorial Gardens
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Oakdale Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Lebanon Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Porter Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Indian Springs Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (161 more) ...

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 Bard had a population of 60 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Buffalo Mills
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Buffalo Mills is located in Bedford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Mills
  • Madley
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Madley is located in Bedford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madley
  • Fossilville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Fossilville is located in Bedford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fossilville
  • Patience
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Patience is located in Bedford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patience
  • Burning Bush
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Burning Bush is located in Bedford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burning Bush
  • Kegg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Kegg is located in Bedford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kegg
  • New Buena Vista
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • New Buena Vista is located in Bedford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Buena Vista
  • Manns Choice
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • West End
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • West End is located in Bedford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West End
  • Glen Savage
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Glen Savage is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Savage
  • Hyndman
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Schellsburg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • New Baltimore
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • New Baltimore is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Baltimore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 167 people
    • Williams
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Williams is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams
    • Hoblitzell
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Hoblitzell is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoblitzell

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

Newspapers Published in Bard ...

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 67 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bard.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bard, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bard.

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 either 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 Bard:

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>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- Bard) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Bard, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.