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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.
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 east contained birth and death records; the county to the south 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 Mercer 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 Mercer County: Mahoning (OH), Trumbull (OH), Butler, Crawford, Lawrence & Venango.
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:
- Mercer County (The home county of Bethel)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Carbon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Carbon is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
- West Middlesex
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Hermitage
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Farrell
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Wheatland
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Grove City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sharon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sharpsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Clark
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Mercer
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Millburn
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Millburn is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millburn
- Leesburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Leesburg is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesburg
- Beaver County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Ellwood City
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Frisco
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Frisco is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frisco
- New Galilee
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- New Galilee is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Galilee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 349 people
- North Sewickley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- North Sewickley is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Sewickley
- Wurtemburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Wurtemburg is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wurtemburg
- Big Beaver
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Big Beaver is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Beaver
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,827 people
- Koppel
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Lillyville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Lillyville is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lillyville
- Darlington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Homewood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Homewood is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homewood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
- Thompson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Thompson is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson
- Cannelton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Cannelton is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannelton
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Slippery Rock
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Forestville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Forestville is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestville
- Harrisville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- West Liberty
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- West Liberty is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Liberty
- Population from the 2020 Census: 328 people
- Branchton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Branchton is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchton
- Portersville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bovard
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Bovard is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bovard
- Hallston
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Hallston is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallston
- Murrinsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Murrinsville is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murrinsville
- Prospect
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ferris
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Ferris is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferris
- Unionville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Unionville is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Atlantic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Atlantic is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlantic
- Adamsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Adamsville is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
- Pymatuning South
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Pymatuning South is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pymatuning South
- Turner
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Turner is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turner
- Turnersville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Turnersville is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnersville
- Hartstown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Hartstown is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartstown
- Westford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Westford is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westford
- Geneva
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Geneva is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
- Pymatuning Central
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Pymatuning Central is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pymatuning Central
- Conneaut Lake
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Cochranton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Espyville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Pulaski
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Pulaski is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulaski
- New Wilmington
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Nashua
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Nashua is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashua
- Volant
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- New Bedford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- New Bedford is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bedford
- Edinburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Oakwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Oakwood is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
- Robinson
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Robinson is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
- New Castle
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- West New Castle
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- West New Castle is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West New Castle
- Hillsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hillsville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsville
- McCaslin
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- McCaslin is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCaslin
- Venango County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Barkeyville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Henderson Station
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Henderson Station is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henderson Station
- Nectarine
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Nectarine is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nectarine
- Pearl
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Pearl is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl
- Bullion
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Bullion is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullion
- Clintonville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Polk
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Polk is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polk
- Population from the 2020 Census: 768 people
- Utica
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Utica is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utica
- Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
- Eakin Corner
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Eakin Corner is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eakin Corner
- Nicklin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Nicklin is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicklin
- Coal City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Coal City is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Sugarcreek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Sugarcreek is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugarcreek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,868 people
- York County
- Adamsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Adamsville is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
- Ashtabula County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Stanhope
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Stanhope is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanhope
- Simons
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Simons is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simons
- West Williamsfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- West Williamsfield is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Williamsfield
- Wick
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Wick is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wick
- Andover
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- West Andover
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- West Andover is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Andover
- Colebrook
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Colebrook is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colebrook
- Columbiana County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Unity
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Unity is located in Columbiana County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unity
- East Palestine
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- State Line ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- State Line is located in Columbiana County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line
- Columbiana
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- New Waterford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Washingtonville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mill Rock
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Mill Rock is located in Columbiana County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Rock
- Leetonia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rogers
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Franklin County (OH)
- Hilltop
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Hilltop is located in Franklin County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilltop
- Mahoning County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Campbell
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Lowellville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hazelton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hazelton is located in Mahoning County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelton
- Youngstown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Struthers
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Poland
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Perkins Corners
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Perkins Corners is located in Mahoning County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perkins Corners
- Boardman
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- New Middletown
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Cornersburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Cornersburg is located in Mahoning County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornersburg
- Austintown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Mineral Ridge
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Trumbull County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Masury
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- West Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- West Hill is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hill
- Brookfield Center
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Brookfield Center is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield Center
- Hubbard
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Five Points
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Five Points is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
- Weldon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Weldon is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weldon
- Yankee Lake
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Yankee Lake is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yankee Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 74 people
- Coalburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Coalburg is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalburg
- Maplewood Park
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Maplewood Park is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplewood Park
- Orangeville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Orangeville is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orangeville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Hartford
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hartford is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
- Paynes Corner
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Paynes Corner is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynes Corner
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.
- United Brethren Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for United Brethren Cemetery
- The United Brethren Cemetery has also been known as:
- Little Jim Cemetery
- St. Johns Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Zahniser Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- America's Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Morefield Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morefield Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Morefield Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Hermitage.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2188999 <2>
- Holy Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Slovak Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- St. Anthonys Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Holy Cross Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holy Cross Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Holy Cross Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Farrell.
- The Holy Cross Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Adalbert Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2203767 <2>
- St. Stanislaus Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Holy Trinity Hungarian RC Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Continue List (346 more) ...
- Holy Trinty Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- St. Ann's Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Ann's Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Ann's Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Farrell.
- The St. Ann's Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Anne's Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2167384 <2>
- St. Anthonys Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Anthonys Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Anthonys Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Farrell.
- The St. Anthonys Cemetery has also been known as:
- Italian Cemetery
- Our Lady of Fatima Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #45979 <2>
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 Bethel had a population of 162 people in 1895 with railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bethel, with the one closest to Bethel listed first.
- Neshannock
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Carbon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Carbon is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
- West Middlesex
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Hermitage
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Pulaski
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Pulaski is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulaski
- New Wilmington
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Hoagland
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Hoagland is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoagland
- Wheatland
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Sharpsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sharon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Grove City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Clark
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Nashua
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Nashua is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashua
- Indian Run
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Indian Run is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Run
- Bentley ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Bentley is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bentley
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 106 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 15 miles [24.1 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 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 Bethel:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Mercer County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Beaver County
- Butler County
- Crawford County
- Lawrence County
- Venango County
- York County
- Ashtabula County
- Columbiana County
- Franklin County
- Mahoning County
- Trumbull 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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Bethel) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |