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 Besco (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 Besco. 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 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.
Besco is located in Washington 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 Washington County: Allegheny, Beaver, Fayette, Greene, Westmoreland, Brooke (WV), Hancock (WV), Marshall (WV) & Ohio (WV).
Below are the counties that are near Besco. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Besco:
- Washington County (The home county of Besco)
- The following are listed by their distance from Besco, with the one closest to Besco listed first.
- Millsboro
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Fredericktown - Millsboro
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Deemston
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Deemston is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deemston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 696 people
- Centerville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Centerville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,133 people
- Beallsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Marianna
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bissell
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Bissell is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bissell
- Daisytown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Scenery Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Blainsburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Blainsburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blainsburg
- West Brownsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- West Brownsville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brownsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
- Ten Mile
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Ten Mile is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ten Mile
- Coal Center
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Allegheny County
- The following are listed by their distance from Besco, with the one closest to Besco listed first.
- Sunny Side
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sunny Side is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Side
- Elizabeth
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- West Elizabeth
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Cochrans Mill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Cochrans Mill is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrans Mill
- Jefferson Hills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Jefferson Hills is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,136 people
- Jefferson Hills has also been known as:
- Jefferson
- Library
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Clairton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Bethel Park
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Coal Valley
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Coal Valley is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Valley
- Mendelssohn
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Mendelssohn is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mendelssohn
- Buena Vista
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Buena Vista is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Lincoln
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Lincoln is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,013 people
- Boston
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Besco, with the one closest to Besco listed first.
- East Millsboro
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- East Millsboro is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Millsboro
- La Belle
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- La Belle is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Belle
- Luzerne
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Luzerne is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luzerne
- Arensburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Arensburg is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arensburg
- Alicia
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Alicia is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alicia
- Heistersburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Heistersburg is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heistersburg
- Isabella
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Isabella is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isabella
- Hiller
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Brownsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Republic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Republic is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Republic
- Dunlap Creek Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Dunlap Creek Village is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlap Creek Village
- Adah
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Adah is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adah
- Chamouni
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Chamouni is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamouni
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Besco, with the one closest to Besco listed first.
- Clarksville
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Chartiers
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Chartiers is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartiers
- Rices Landing
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jefferson
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Jefferson is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
- Lippincott
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Lippincott is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lippincott
- Khedive
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Khedive is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Khedive
- Carmichaels
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cumberland Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cumberland Village is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
- Stringtown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Stringtown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Fairdale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Fairdale is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
- Ceylon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Ceylon is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceylon
- Fordyce
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Fordyce is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fordyce
- Morrisville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Morrisville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisville
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Besco, with the one closest to Besco listed first.
- Gibsonton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Gibsonton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonton
- Monessen
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- North Belle Vernon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- North Belle Vernon is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Belle Vernon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,842 people
- Webster
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Webster is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Smithton
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- West Newton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Sutersville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Blackburn ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Blackburn is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn
- Wyano
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Wyano is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyano
- Scottdale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Hawkeye
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Hawkeye is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkeye
- Shaner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Shaner is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaner
- Yukon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Marion County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Besco, with the one closest to Besco listed first.
- Hoodsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Hoodsville is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoodsville
- Fairview
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Estimated population in 2021: 373 people
- Grant Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Grant Town is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Town
- Population from the 2020 Census: 590 people
- Pleasant View
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Pleasant View is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Marshall County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Besco, with the one closest to Besco listed first.
- Dallas
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Dallas is located in Marshall County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- Rocklick
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Rocklick is located in Marshall County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocklick
- Calis
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Calis is located in Marshall County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calis
- Cameron
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Monongalia County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Besco, with the one closest to Besco listed first.
- Bowlby
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Bowlby is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowlby
- Maidsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Maidsville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maidsville
- Baker Ridge
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Baker Ridge is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker Ridge
- Blacksville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Blacksville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blacksville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
- Canyon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Canyon is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon
- Cassville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Cassville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassville
- Osage
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Osage is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osage
- Star City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Star City is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,984 people
- Granville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Granville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,156 people
- Cheat Lake
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Cheat Lake is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheat Lake
- Morgantown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Miracle Run
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Miracle Run is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miracle Run
- Wana
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Ohio County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Besco, with the one closest to Besco listed first.
- Potomac
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Potomac is located in Ohio County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potomac
- Valley Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Point Mills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Point Mills is located in Ohio County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Mills
- Preston County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Besco, with the one closest to Besco listed first.
- Clifton Mills
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Clifton Mills is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton Mills
- Brandonville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Brandonville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
- Bruceton Mills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Rockville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Rockville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
- Wetzel County (WV)
- Round Bottom
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Round Bottom is located in Wetzel County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Besco, see our County-by-County Page for Besco.
Cemeteries Near Besco ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Besco.
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 Besco - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Besco covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Besco, with the one closest to Besco listed first.
- Buckingham Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Wise Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hewitts Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Horn Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horn Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Horn Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<3> to the south of Marianna.
- The Horn Cemetery has also been known as:
- Horn Burial Ground
- Horns Lutheran Cemetery
- Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #45150 <2>
- St. Nicholas Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cumberland Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- St. Mary's Catholic Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Westland Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Beallsville Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Greene County Memorial Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Horner Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Zion Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (495 more) ...
- St. Marys Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Franklin Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
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 Besco in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Besco.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Besco, with the one closest to Besco listed first.
- Clarksville
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Millsboro
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Fredericktown
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Deemston
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Deemston is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deemston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 696 people
- Rices Landing
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jefferson
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Jefferson is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
- Beallsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lippincott
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Lippincott is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lippincott
- Heistersburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Heistersburg is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heistersburg
- Bissell
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Bissell is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bissell
- Castile
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Castile is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castile
- Khedive
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Khedive is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Khedive
- Continue List (22 more) ...
- Carmichaels
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- East Riverside
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- East Riverside is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Riverside
- Scenery Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Besco. See our List of 1890's Communities around Besco.
Newspapers Published in Besco ...
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 60 newspapers that have been published in the area around Besco.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Besco, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Besco.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Besco:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Washington County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegheny County
- Fayette County
- Greene County
- Westmoreland County
- Marion County
- Marshall County
- Monongalia County
- Ohio County
- Preston County
- Wetzel 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Besco) 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 Besco, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |