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 Bethel (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 Bethel. 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 and 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.
Bethel is located in Allegheny 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 Allegheny County: Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Washington & Westmoreland.
Below are the counties that are near Bethel. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bethel:
- Allegheny County (The home county of Bethel)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Mount Lebanon
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Brightwood
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Brightwood is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brightwood
- Castle Shannon
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Bethel Park
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Whitehall
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Essen
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Essen is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Essen
- Upper Saint Clair
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Baldwin
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Baldwin is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 19,419 people
- Dormont
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Brentwood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Woodville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Woodville is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
- Bridgeville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Armstrong County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Freeport
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Apollo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Leechburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Beaver County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- South Heights
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- South Heights is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 437 people
- Ambridge
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Gringo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Gringo is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gringo
- Crestmont Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Crestmont Village is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crestmont Village
- Aliquippa
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- New Sheffield
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- New Sheffield is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Sheffield
- Economy
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Economy is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Economy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,022 people
- Baden
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Harshaville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Harshaville is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harshaville
- Wallace City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Wallace City is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallace City
- Conway
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Frankfort Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Frankfort Springs is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankfort Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Seven Fields
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Seven Fields is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Fields
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,740 people
- Valencia
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Fernway
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Fernway is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernway
- Fox Run
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Fox Run is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Run
- Mars
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Ogle
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Ogle is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogle
- Glade Mills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Glade Mills is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade Mills
- Myoma
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Myoma is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myoma
- Callery
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Watters
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Watters is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watters
- Ekastown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ekastown is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ekastown
- Brownsdale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Brownsdale is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsdale
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Belle Vernon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lynnwood
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Lynnwood is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynnwood
- Arnold City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Arnold City is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold City
- Brownstown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Brownstown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownstown
- Fairhope
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Fairhope is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhope
- Fayette City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Fayette City is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 569 people
- Newell
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Newell is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 492 people
- Banning
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Banning is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banning
- Chamouni
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Chamouni is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamouni
- Kenneth
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Kenneth is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenneth
- Redstone
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Redstone is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redstone
- Whitsett
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Whitsett is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitsett
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Clarksville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Chartiers
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Chartiers is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartiers
- West Union
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- West Union is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Union
- Rices Landing
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Jefferson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Jefferson is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
- Lippincott
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Lippincott is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lippincott
- Swarts
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Swarts is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swarts
- Cumberland Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Cumberland Village is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
- Stringtown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Stringtown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Thompsonville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Thompsonville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompsonville
- McMurray
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Finleyville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Gastonville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Gastonville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gastonville
- Ellsworth
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ellsworth is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellsworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
- Gilkeson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Gilkeson is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilkeson
- Canonsburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cokeburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cokeburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cokeburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 603 people
- Baidland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Baidland is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baidland
- Houston
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- MacDonald
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- MacDonald is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for MacDonald
- McDonald
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Shaner
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Shaner is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaner
- Sutersville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Webster
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Webster is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Trafford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Blackburn ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Blackburn is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn
- Monessen
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Larimer
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Larimer is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larimer
- Rillton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Gibsonton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Gibsonton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonton
- Irwin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Irwin is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,716 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irwin <1>
- North Irwin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- North Irwin is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Irwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- North Belle Vernon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- 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
- Jefferson County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Mingo Junction
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Deandale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Deandale is located in Jefferson County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deandale
- Georges Run
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Georges Run is located in Jefferson County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georges Run
- Toronto
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Brooke County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Hooverson Heights
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Hooverson Heights is located in Brooke County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooverson Heights
- Bethany
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Follansbee
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Lower Ferry ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Lower Ferry is located in Brooke County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Ferry
- Middle Ferry ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Middle Ferry is located in Brooke County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Ferry
- Dutch Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Dutch Town is located in Brooke County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutch Town
- Shank Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Shank Town is located in Brooke County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shank Town
- Wellsburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Hancock County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Weirton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Zalia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Zalia is located in Hancock County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zalia
- Ohio County (WV)
- Potomac
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Potomac is located in Ohio County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potomac
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bethel, see our County-by-County Page for Bethel.
Cemeteries Near Bethel ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bethel.
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 Bethel - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bethel covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Bethel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- St. Vladimer Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- St. Casimer Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- St. Sava Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- St. Anns Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Mt. Lebanon Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- St. Clair Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Mt. Olivet Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Jefferson Memorial Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- St. Ignatius / St. Marys Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Zion Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (430 more) ...
- Shaare Torah Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Beth Abraham Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- St. Georges Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 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>
While we didn't find Bethel in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bethel.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Brightwood
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Brightwood is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brightwood
- Mount Lebanon
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Clifton
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Clifton is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Castle Shannon
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Beadling
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Beadling is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beadling
- Upper Saint Clair
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Whitehall
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Essen
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Essen is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Essen
- Broughton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Broughton is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broughton
- Curry
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Curry is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curry
- Option
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Option is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Option
- Baldwin
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Baldwin is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 19,419 people
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Woodville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Woodville is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
- Bower Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bower Hill is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bower Hill
- Bridgeville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bethel. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bethel.
Newspapers Published in Bethel ...
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 467 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bethel.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bethel, there are papers which were published within 8 miles [12.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bethel.
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 Bethel:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Allegheny County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Armstrong County
- Beaver County
- Butler County
- Fayette County
- Greene County
- Washington County
- Westmoreland County
- Jefferson County
- Brooke County
- Hancock County
- Ohio 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 Bethel, 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' (or 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- Bethel) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |