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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 Beach Haven (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 Beach Haven. 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.

Name Variations for Beach Haven ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Beach Haven: Beach Hvn. (or less commonly used: Beach Havn.)

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Beach Haven 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 Beach Haven. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Beach Haven:

  • Luzerne County     (The home county of Beach Haven)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beach Haven, with the one closest to Beach Haven listed first.
    • Nescopeck
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nescopeck have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nescopeck
      • Nescopeck is located in Luzerne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,522 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nescopeck <2>
    • East Berwick
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Berwick have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Berwick
      • East Berwick is located in Luzerne County
    • Shickshinny
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Mountain Grove
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Sybertsville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Lee
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lee. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee
      • Lee is located in Luzerne County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lee
      • From Beach Haven to Lee
    • Waterton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Huntington Mills
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Conyngham
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Conyngham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conyngham
      • Conyngham is located in Luzerne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,858 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Conyngham <2>
    • Tomhicken
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tomhicken. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomhicken
      • Tomhicken is located in Luzerne County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tomhicken
      • From Beach Haven to Tomhicken
    • Dorrance
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Glen Lyon
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • New Columbus
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Columbus have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Columbus
      • New Columbus is located in Luzerne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 227 people
  • Carbon County
  • Columbia County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beach Haven, with the one closest to Beach Haven listed first.
    • Berwick
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Foundryville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Foundryville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foundryville
      • Foundryville is located in Columbia County
    • Hetlerville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Briar Creek
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jonestown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jonestown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonestown
      • Jonestown is located in Columbia County
    • Mifflinville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mifflinville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mifflinville
      • Mifflinville is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mifflinville <2>
    • Lime Ridge
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lime Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime Ridge
      • Lime Ridge is located in Columbia County
    • Zaner
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Shumans
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Shumans. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shumans
      • Shumans is located in Columbia County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Shumans
      • From Beach Haven to Shumans
    • Stillwater
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Almedia
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Mainville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mainville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mainville
      • Mainville is located in Columbia County
    • Espy
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Lackawanna County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beach Haven, with the one closest to Beach Haven listed first.
    • Lawrenceville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Belian Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • 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
    • Old Forge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • 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>
  • Lycoming County
  • Montour County
  • Northumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beach Haven, with the one closest to Beach Haven listed first.
    • Mount Carmel
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Carmel have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carmel
      • Mount Carmel is located in Northumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,708 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Carmel <2>
    • Natalie
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Bear Gap
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Dooleyville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Elysburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elysburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elysburg
      • Elysburg is located in Northumberland County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elysburg <2>
    • Locust Gap
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Marion Heights
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marion Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion Heights
      • Marion Heights is located in Northumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 573 people
    • Kulpmont
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kulpmont have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kulpmont
      • Kulpmont is located in Northumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,735 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kulpmont <2>
    • Rushtown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rushtown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushtown
      • Rushtown is located in Northumberland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rushtown
      • From Beach Haven to Rushtown
    • Riverside
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverside have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
      • Riverside is located in Northumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,839 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Riverside <2>
    • Chulasky
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chulasky. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chulasky
      • Chulasky is located in Northumberland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Chulasky
      • From Beach Haven to Chulasky
    • Marshallton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marshallton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshallton
      • Marshallton is located in Northumberland County
    • Shamokin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Schuylkill County
  • Sullivan County
  • Wyoming County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beach Haven, with the one closest to Beach Haven listed first.
    • Mill City ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • 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
    • Beaumont
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Noxen
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Evans Falls
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Vernon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jenks
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Beach Haven ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Beach Haven.

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

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

  • Forest Lawn Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Mt. Zion Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Pine Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Groover Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Groover Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Groover Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Roselawn Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Roselawn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Roselawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Greek Catholic Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greek Catholic Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greek Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Russian Orthodox Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Russian Orthodox Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Russian Orthodox Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Scott Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Scott Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Scott Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Dodson Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dodson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dodson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Brown Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brown Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brown Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Graveyard Hill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Graveyard Hill
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Graveyard Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (194 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Beach Haven had a population of 413 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Nescopeck
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nescopeck have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nescopeck
    • Nescopeck is located in Luzerne County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,522 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nescopeck <2>
  • Briggsville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Briggsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briggsville
    • Briggsville is located in Luzerne County
  • Wapwallopen
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wapwallopen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wapwallopen
    • Wapwallopen is located in Luzerne County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wapwallopen <2>
  • Berwick
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Briar Creek
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Hetlerville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Hobbie
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hobbie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobbie
    • Hobbie is located in Luzerne County
  • Pond Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pond Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pond Hill
    • Pond Hill is located in Luzerne County
  • Mocanaqua
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mocanaqua have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mocanaqua
    • Mocanaqua is located in Luzerne County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mocanaqua <2>
  • Mountain Grove
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Sybertsville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Shickshinny
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (20 more) ...
    • Evansville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Evansville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evansville
      • Evansville is located in Columbia County
    • Willow Springs
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Springs
      • Willow Springs is located in Columbia County
    • Mifflinville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mifflinville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mifflinville
      • Mifflinville is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mifflinville <2>

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

Newspapers Published in Beach Haven ...

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 52 newspapers that have been published in the area around Beach Haven.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Beach Haven, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Beach Haven.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Beach Haven:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Beach Haven. 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 Beach Haven, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Beach Haven) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Beach Haven. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.0684, Longitude: -76.1759    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025