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 Bellwood (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 Bellwood. 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 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.
Bellwood is located in Blair 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 Blair County: Bedford, Cambria, Centre & Huntingdon.
Below are the counties that are near Bellwood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bellwood:
- Blair County (The home county of Bellwood)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bellwood, with the one closest to Bellwood listed first.
- Tipton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Culp
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Culp is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Culp
- Grazierville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Grazierville is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grazierville
- Tyrone
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Altoona
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Highland Fling
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Highland Fling is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Fling
- Tyrone Forge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Tyrone Forge is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone Forge
- Flowing Spring
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Flowing Spring is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flowing Spring
- Point View
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Point View is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point View
- Franklin Forge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Franklin Forge is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Forge
- Canan
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Canan is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canan
- Eldorado
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Eldorado is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldorado
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bellwood, with the one closest to Bellwood listed first.
- King
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- King is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King
- Maria
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Maria is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maria
- Pavia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Pavia is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pavia
- Waterside
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Waterside is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterside
- New Enterprise
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- New Enterprise is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Enterprise
- Loysburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Riddlesburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Riddlesburg is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riddlesburg
- Woodbury
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Cambria County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bellwood, with the one closest to Bellwood listed first.
- Lloydville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lloydville is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloydville
- Buckhorn
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Buckhorn is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckhorn
- Dean
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Dean is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dean
- Dysart
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Dysart is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dysart
- Fallentimber
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ashville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Flinton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Gallitzin
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Amsbry
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Amsbry is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amsbry
- Spindley City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Spindley City is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spindley City
- Tunnelhill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Tunnelhill is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnelhill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 327 people
- Chest Springs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Chest Springs is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chest Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 138 people
- Centre County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bellwood, with the one closest to Bellwood listed first.
- Sandy Ridge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Sandy Ridge is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Ridge
- New Town
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- New Town is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Marengo
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Marengo is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marengo
- Glass City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Glass City is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glass City
- South Philipsburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- South Philipsburg is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Philipsburg
- Musser
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Musser is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Musser
- Port Matilda
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Philipsburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Ramblewood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ramblewood is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramblewood
- Stormstown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Stormstown is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stormstown
- North Philipsburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- North Philipsburg is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Philipsburg
- Fairbrook
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Fairbrook is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairbrook
- Clearfield County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bellwood, with the one closest to Bellwood listed first.
- Ginter
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Ginter is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ginter
- Utahville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Utahville is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utahville
- Houtzdale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Ramey
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Ramey is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 425 people
- Coalport
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hegarty Crossroads
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hegarty Crossroads is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hegarty Crossroads
- Lyleville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lyleville is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyleville
- Blain City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Blain City is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blain City
- Rosebud
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Rosebud is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosebud
- Brisbin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Brisbin is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brisbin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 385 people
- Glen Hope
(16 miles [25.7 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
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Huntingdon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bellwood, with the one closest to Bellwood listed first.
- Birmingham
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Birmingham is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
- Water Street
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Water Street is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Street
- Pennington
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Pennington is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
- Alexandria
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Huntingdon Furnace
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Huntingdon Furnace is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntingdon Furnace
- Seven Stars
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Seven Stars is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
- Petersburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Dungarvin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dungarvin is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dungarvin
- McConnellstown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- McConnellstown is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McConnellstown
- Hesston
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Marklesburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Marklesburg is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marklesburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 194 people
- Huntingdon
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bellwood, with the one closest to Bellwood listed first.
- Alverda
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Alverda is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alverda
- Uniontown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Uniontown is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
- Cherry Tree
(28 miles [45.1 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
- Grisemore
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Grisemore is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grisemore
- Glen Campbell
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hooverhurst
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hooverhurst is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooverhurst
- Urey
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Urey is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urey
- Heilwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Heilwood is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heilwood
- Hillsdale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Hillsdale is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Mifflin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bellwood, with the one closest to Bellwood listed first.
- Allensville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Atkinson Mills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Atkinson Mills is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkinson Mills
- Kistler
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Kistler is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kistler
- Population from the 2020 Census: 315 people
- Menno
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Menno is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menno
- Newton Hamilton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Newton Hamilton is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton Hamilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 198 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bellwood, see our County-by-County Page for Bellwood.
Cemeteries Near Bellwood ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bellwood.
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 Bellwood - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bellwood covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bellwood, with the one closest to Bellwood listed first.
- Logan Valley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Antis Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Dysart Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- 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
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- St. John Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Grandview Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- 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>
- Greenwood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Rose Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Rose Hill Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Altoona.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #45918 <2>
- Fairview Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Ridge Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (313 more) ...
- Williams Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Eastlawn Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Tyrone Grandview Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
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 Bellwood had a population of 1,146 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Bellwood had a population of 1,751 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bellwood, with the one closest to Bellwood listed first.
- Fostoria
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Fostoria is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fostoria
- Roots
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Roots is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roots
- Tipton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Culp
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Culp is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Culp
- Juniata
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Juniata is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juniata
- Grazierville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Grazierville is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grazierville
- Wopsononock
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Wopsononock is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wopsononock
- Altoona
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Arch Spring
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Arch Spring is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arch Spring
- Tyrone
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lloydville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lloydville is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloydville
- Birmingham
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Birmingham is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Tyrone Forge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Tyrone Forge is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone Forge
- Mountaindale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mountaindale is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountaindale
- Allegheny Furnace
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Allegheny Furnace is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allegheny Furnace
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bellwood. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bellwood.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Bellwood ...
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 72 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bellwood.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Bellwood. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Bellwood and those printed in the larger area surrounding Bellwood.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4> of Bellwood.
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 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 Bellwood:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Blair County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bedford County
- Cambria County
- Centre County
- Clearfield County
- Huntingdon County
- Indiana County
- Mifflin 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 Bellwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Bellwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |