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 Belltown (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 Belltown. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.
Neighboring Counties ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.
So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived: their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Belltown is located in Mifflin 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 Mifflin County: Centre, Huntingdon, Juniata, Snyder & Union.
Below are the counties that are near Belltown. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Belltown:
- Mifflin County (The home county of Belltown)
- The following are listed by their distance from Belltown, with the one closest to Belltown listed first.
- Alfarata
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Alfarata is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alfarata
- Paintersville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Paintersville is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paintersville
- Honey Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Honey Creek is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
- Burnham
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Yeagertown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Milroy
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Reedsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Highland Park
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Highland Park is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Park
- Lumber City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Lumber City is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumber City
- Lewistown Junction
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lewistown Junction is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewistown Junction
- Lewistown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Juniata Terrace
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Juniata Terrace is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juniata Terrace
- Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
- Allegheny County
- Bloomfield
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Bloomfield is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,255 people
- Centre County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belltown, with the one closest to Belltown listed first.
- Ingleby
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Ingleby is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleby
- Coburn
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Zerby
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Zerby is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zerby
- Millheim
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Penn Hall
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Penn Hall is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penn Hall
- Potters Mills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Potters Mills is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potters Mills
- Spring Mills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Aaronsburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Fiedler
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Fiedler is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiedler
- Woodward
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Fruittown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Fruittown is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruittown
- Centre Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Centre Hill is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centre Hill
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belltown, with the one closest to Belltown listed first.
- Tylersville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Tylersville is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tylersville
- Greenburr
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Greenburr is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenburr
- Lamar
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Abdera
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Abdera is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abdera
- Loganton
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Cedar Springs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Cedar Springs is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Springs
- Rote
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Rote is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rote
- Salona
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Salona is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salona
- Mill Hall
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Castanea
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Flemington
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Flemington is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flemington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,312 people
- Dunnstown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Dunnstown is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnstown
- Dauphin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belltown, with the one closest to Belltown listed first.
- Paxton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Paxton is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxton
- Millersburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Rife
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Rife is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rife
- Halifax
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Huntingdon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belltown, with the one closest to Belltown listed first.
- Ennisville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Ennisville is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ennisville
- Donation
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Donation is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donation
- Neffs Mills
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Neffs Mills is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neffs Mills
- Juniata County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belltown, with the one closest to Belltown listed first.
- Mifflin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Mifflin is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mifflin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 606 people
- Mifflintown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- McAlisterville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Swales
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Swales is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swales
- Mexico
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Mexico is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexico
- Port Royal
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Old Port
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Old Port is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Port
- Locust Run
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Locust Run is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Run
- Thompsontown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Richfield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Doyles Mills
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Doyles Mills is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doyles Mills
- Seven Stars
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Seven Stars is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
- Northumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belltown, with the one closest to Belltown listed first.
- Malta
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Malta is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malta
- Herndon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Mandata
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Mandata is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandata
- Selinsgrove Junction
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Selinsgrove Junction is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selinsgrove Junction
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belltown, with the one closest to Belltown listed first.
- Millerstown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Eshcol
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Eshcol is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eshcol
- Ickesburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Ickesburg is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ickesburg
- Reward
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Reward is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reward
- Pfoutz Valley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Pfoutz Valley is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pfoutz Valley
- Kistler
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Kistler is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kistler
- Newport
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bixler
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Bixler is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bixler
- Elliottsburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Elliottsburg is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliottsburg
- Blain
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Centre
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Centre is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centre
- Bailey
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bailey is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey
- Snyder County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belltown, with the one closest to Belltown listed first.
- Bannerville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Bannerville is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bannerville
- McClure
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Middle Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Middle Creek is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Creek
- Beaver Springs
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Beaver Springs is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Springs
- Benfer
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Benfer is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benfer
- Troxelville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Troxelville is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troxelville
- Beavertown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Paxtonville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Paxtonville is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxtonville
- Coon Hunter
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Coon Hunter is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coon Hunter
- Middleburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Mount Pleasant Mills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Penns Creek
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belltown, with the one closest to Belltown listed first.
- Cherry Run
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Cherry Run is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Run
- Pardee
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pardee is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pardee
- Glen Iron
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Glen Iron is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Iron
- Laurelton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Laurelton is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelton
- Hartleton
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Hartleton is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartleton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 275 people
- Millmont
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Mifflinburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Red Bank
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Red Bank is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
- New Berlin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Dry Valley Crossroads
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mazeppa
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mazeppa is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mazeppa
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Belltown, see our County-by-County Page for Belltown.
Cemeteries Near Belltown ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Belltown.
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 Belltown - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Belltown covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Belltown, with the one closest to Belltown listed first.
- Belltown Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Alfarata Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Union Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- St. Pauls Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Old Salem Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Birch Hill Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- St. Stephens Lutheran Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Stephens Lutheran Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Stephens Lutheran Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the west of Mifflin.
- The St. Stephens Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Stephens Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1981847 <3>
- Rothrock Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Lost Creek Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hillside Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (160 more) ...
- Rothrock - Hoyt Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Rock Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Union Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 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.<4>
While we didn't find Belltown in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Belltown.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Belltown, with the one closest to Belltown listed first.
- Decatur
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Decatur is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur
- Shindle
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Shindle is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shindle
- Soradoville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Soradoville is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soradoville
- Wagner
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Wagner is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wagner
- Bannerville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Bannerville is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bannerville
- Alfarata
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Alfarata is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alfarata
- Paintersville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Paintersville is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paintersville
- McClure
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Crossgrove
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Crossgrove is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crossgrove
- Lowell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Lowell is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
- Siglerville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Siglerville is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siglerville
- Honey Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Honey Creek is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Vira
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Vira is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vira
- Maitland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Maitland is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maitland
- Raubs Mills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Raubs Mills is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raubs Mills
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Belltown. See our List of 1890's Communities around Belltown.
Newspapers Published in Belltown ...
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 53 newspapers that have been published in the area around Belltown.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Belltown, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Belltown.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Belltown:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Mifflin County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegheny County
- Centre County
- Clinton County
- Dauphin County
- Huntingdon County
- Juniata County
- Northumberland County
- Perry County
- Snyder County
- Union 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> | 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- Belltown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Belltown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |