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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 Bear Loop (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 Bear Loop. 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 and doctors 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.

Bear Loop is located in Cambria 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 Cambria County: Bedford, Blair, Centre, Clearfield, Indiana, Somerset & Westmoreland.

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

  • Cambria County     (The home county of Bear Loop)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bear Loop, with the one closest to Bear Loop listed first.
    • Lloydville
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Lloydville is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloydville
    • Dean
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Dean is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dean
    • Fallentimber
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Flinton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Dysart
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Dysart is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dysart
    • Buckhorn
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Buckhorn is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckhorn
    • Ashville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Amsbry
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Amsbry is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amsbry
    • Chest Springs
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Chest Springs is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chest Springs
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 138 people
    • Spindley City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Spindley City is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spindley City
    • Gallitzin
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Patton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Bedford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bear Loop, with the one closest to Bear Loop listed first.
    • King
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • King is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King
    • Pavia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Pavia is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pavia
  • Blair County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bear Loop, with the one closest to Bear Loop listed first.
    • Highland Fling
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Highland Fling is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Fling
    • Bellwood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Tipton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Grazierville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Grazierville is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grazierville
    • Tyrone
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Altoona
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Culp
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Culp is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Culp
    • Tyrone Forge
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Tyrone Forge is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone Forge
    • Eldorado
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Eldorado is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldorado
    • Canan
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Canan is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canan
    • Cross Keys
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Cross Keys is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Keys
    • Flowing Spring
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Flowing Spring is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flowing Spring
  • Centre County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bear Loop, with the one closest to Bear Loop listed first.
    • Sandy Ridge
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Sandy Ridge is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Ridge
    • New Town
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • New Town is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
    • Glass City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Glass City is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glass City
    • South Philipsburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • South Philipsburg is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Philipsburg
    • Philipsburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • North Philipsburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • North Philipsburg is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Philipsburg
    • Marengo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Marengo is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marengo
    • Port Matilda
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Musser
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Musser is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Musser
    • Stormstown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Stormstown is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stormstown
    • Ramblewood
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Ramblewood is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramblewood
    • Casanova
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Casanova is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casanova
  • Clearfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bear Loop, with the one closest to Bear Loop listed first.
    • Utahville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Utahville is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utahville
    • Ginter
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Ginter is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ginter
    • Lyleville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Lyleville is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyleville
    • Hegarty Crossroads
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Hegarty Crossroads is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hegarty Crossroads
    • Blain City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Blain City is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blain City
    • Coalport
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Rosebud
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Rosebud is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosebud
    • Ramey
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Ramey is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 425 people
    • Glen Hope
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Glen Hope is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Hope
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
    • Irvona
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Houtzdale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Belsena
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Belsena is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belsena
      • Belsena has also been known as:
      • Belsena Mills
  • Huntingdon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bear Loop, with the one closest to Bear Loop listed first.
    • Birmingham
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Birmingham is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
    • Pennington
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Pennington is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
    • Huntingdon Furnace
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Huntingdon Furnace is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntingdon Furnace
    • Water Street
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Water Street is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Street
    • Dungarvin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Dungarvin is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dungarvin
    • Seven Stars
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Seven Stars is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
    • Alexandria
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Petersburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Hesston
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Marklesburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Marklesburg is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marklesburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 194 people
    • McConnellstown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • McConnellstown is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McConnellstown
    • Huntingdon
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Indiana County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bear Loop, with the one closest to Bear Loop listed first.
    • Uniontown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Uniontown is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
    • Alverda
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Alverda is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alverda
    • Cherry Tree
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Cherry Tree is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Tree
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
    • Glen Campbell
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Grisemore
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Grisemore is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grisemore
    • Hooverhurst
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Hooverhurst is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooverhurst
    • Urey
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Urey is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urey
    • Hillsdale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Hillsdale is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
    • Cookport
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Cookport is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cookport
    • Heilwood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Heilwood is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heilwood
    • Pine Flats
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Pine Flats is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Flats
    • Purchase Line
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Purchase Line is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purchase Line
  • Jefferson County
    • Winslow
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Winslow is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winslow

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

Cemeteries Near Bear Loop ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bear Loop.

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 Bear Loop - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Cambria Mills Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Utahville Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utahville Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Utahville Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Utahville.
    • The Utahville Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Utahville UMC Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #481119 <2>
  • Criswell Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Antis Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Logan Valley Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Dysart Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • The Dysart Cemetery is located on private property - be sure to secure permission before visiting.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dysart Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Dysart Cemetery is located in Tipton.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2223636 <2>
  • Charlottsville Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Weld Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Shelton Hill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Crossroads Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Grandview Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Grandview Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Altoona.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #44953 <2>
  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (282 more) ...
    • Spangle Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • St. Thomas Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Agudath Achim Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)

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>

While we didn't find Bear Loop in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bear Loop.

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

  • Lloydville
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Lloydville is located in Cambria County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloydville
  • Mountaindale
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Mountaindale is located in Cambria County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountaindale
  • Glasgow
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Glasgow is located in Cambria County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
  • Frugality
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Frugality is located in Cambria County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frugality
  • Van Ormer
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Van Ormer is located in Cambria County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Ormer
  • Dean
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Dean is located in Cambria County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dean
  • Allemans
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Allemans is located in Clearfield County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allemans
  • Fallentimber
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Condron
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Condron is located in Cambria County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Condron
  • Roots
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Roots is located in Blair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roots
  • Utahville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Utahville is located in Clearfield County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utahville
  • Flinton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Dysart
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Dysart is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dysart
    • Wopsononock
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Wopsononock is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wopsononock
    • Bellwood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Bear Loop ...

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 Bear Loop.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bear Loop, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bear Loop.

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 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 Bear Loop:

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 Bear Loop, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Bear Loop) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.