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 Bethany (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 Bethany. 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 Bethany ...
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.
In past government published Postal Guides, Bethany was referred to as Bethany Courthouse.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Bethany. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Bethany.
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.
For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.
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.
Bethany is located in Wayne 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 Wayne County: Broome (NY), Delaware (NY), Sullivan (NY), Lackawanna, Monroe, Pike & Susquehanna.
Below are the counties that are near Bethany. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bethany:
- Wayne County (The home county of Bethany)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethany, with the one closest to Bethany listed first.
- Dyberry
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Dyberry is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dyberry
- Seelyville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Seelyville is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seelyville
- Prompton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Prompton is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prompton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 233 people
- Carley Brook
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Carley Brook is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carley Brook
- Tanners Falls
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Tanners Falls is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanners Falls
- Honesdale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Laurella
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Laurella is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurella
- Siko
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Siko is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siko
- Aldenville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Aldenville is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aldenville
- Keen
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Keen is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keen
- Waymart
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Calkins
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Calkins is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calkins
- Boyds Mills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Boyds Mills is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyds Mills
- Lackawanna County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethany, with the one closest to Bethany listed first.
- Simpson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Vandling
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Vandling is located in Lackawanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandling
- Population from the 2020 Census: 707 people
- Carbondale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Cortez
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Cortez is located in Lackawanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cortez
- Mayfield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Jermyn
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Archbald
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Jessup
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Tompkinsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Tompkinsville is located in Lackawanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tompkinsville
- Blakely
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Drinker
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Drinker is located in Lackawanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drinker
- Mount Cobb
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Cobb is located in Lackawanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Cobb
- Green Grove
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Green Grove is located in Lackawanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Grove
- Luzerne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethany, with the one closest to Bethany listed first.
- Avoca
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Houston City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Houston City is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston City
- Dupont
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Duryea
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Langdon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Langdon is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langdon
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethany, with the one closest to Bethany listed first.
- Mount Pocono
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Mountainhome
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Tobyhanna
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Pike County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethany, with the one closest to Bethany listed first.
- Wilsonville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Wilsonville is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsonville
- Kimble
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Kimble is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimble
- Masthope
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Masthope is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masthope
- Paupack
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Tafton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ledgedale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Ledgedale is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ledgedale
- Rowland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Westcolang
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Westcolang is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westcolang
- Blooming Grove
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Blooming Grove is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blooming Grove
- Lackawaxen
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Lords Valley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Panther
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Panther is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panther
- Parkers Glen
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Parkers Glen is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkers Glen
- Susquehanna County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethany, with the one closest to Bethany listed first.
- Forest City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Union Dale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Burnwood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Burnwood is located in Susquehanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnwood
- Royal
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Royal is located in Susquehanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
- Lenoxville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Lenoxville is located in Susquehanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenoxville
- Ararat
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Ararat is located in Susquehanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ararat
- South Gibson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Thompson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Jackson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Gibson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Gibson is located in Susquehanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson
- North Jackson
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- North Jackson is located in Susquehanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Jackson
- Lakeview
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Lakeview is located in Susquehanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
- Hop Bottom
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Wyoming County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethany, with the one closest to Bethany listed first.
- Nicholson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Factoryville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Lake Winola
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Broome County (NY)
- Gulf Summit
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Gulf Summit is located in Broome County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf Summit
- Delaware County (NY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethany, with the one closest to Bethany listed first.
- Pea Brook
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Pea Brook is located in Delaware County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pea Brook
- Rock Valley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Rock Valley is located in Delaware County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Valley
- Hancock
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Cadosia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Cadosia is located in Delaware County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cadosia
- Peakville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Peakville is located in Delaware County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peakville
- Chiloway
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Chiloway is located in Delaware County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chiloway
- Butternut Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Butternut Grove is located in Delaware County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butternut Grove
- Cooks Falls
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Cooks Falls is located in Delaware County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Falls
- Horton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Horton is located in Delaware County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
- Harvard
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Harvard is located in Delaware County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard
- Sullivan County (NY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethany, with the one closest to Bethany listed first.
- Narrowsburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Cochecton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Tusten
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Tusten is located in Sullivan County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tusten
- Cochecton Center
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Callicoon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hankins
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hortonville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Falls Mills
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Falls Mills is located in Sullivan County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mills
- Long Eddy
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Yulan
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- North Branch
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Eldred
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Barryville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bethany, see our County-by-County Page for Bethany.
Cemeteries Near Bethany ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bethany.
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 Bethany - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bethany covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bethany, with the one closest to Bethany listed first.
- Glass Factory Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- East Dyberry Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Dyberry Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Schoonover Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Keen Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Darling Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Old Canaan Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Vine Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Bolkcom Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- East Canaan Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (209 more) ...
- Saints Peter and Paul Greek Catholic Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- South Canaan Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Green Grove Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
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 Bethany had a population of 134 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Bethany had a population of 222 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bethany, with the one closest to Bethany listed first.
- Prompton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Prompton is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prompton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 233 people
- Seelyville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Seelyville is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seelyville
- Dyberry
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Dyberry is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dyberry
- Honesdale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Carley Brook
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Carley Brook is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carley Brook
- Tanners Falls
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Tanners Falls is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanners Falls
- Keen
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Keen is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keen
- Siko
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Siko is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siko
- Aldenville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Aldenville is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aldenville
- Fermoy
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Fermoy is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fermoy
- Cherry Ridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Cherry Ridge is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Ridge
- Torrey
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Torrey is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Torrey
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Waymart
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Indian Orchard
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Indian Orchard is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Orchard
- Girdland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Girdland is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girdland
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bethany. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bethany.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Bethany ...
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 75 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bethany.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Bethany. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Bethany and those printed in the larger area surrounding Bethany.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4> of Bethany.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Bethany:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Wayne County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Lackawanna County
- Luzerne County
- Monroe County
- Pike County
- Susquehanna County
- Wyoming County
- Broome County
- Delaware County
- Sullivan 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 Bethany, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Bethany) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |