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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 Bethlehem (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 Bethlehem. 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 and 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.

Bethlehem is primarily located in Lehigh County. A portion of Bethlehem extends into Northampton County.

To see how the shape of Pennsylvania's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Lehigh County: Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Northampton & Schuylkill.

Below are the counties that are near Bethlehem. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bethlehem:

  • Lehigh County     (The home county of Bethlehem)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethlehem, with the one closest to Bethlehem listed first.
    • Fountain Hill
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Rittersville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Friedensville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Allentown
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Catasauqua
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Catasauqua have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catasauqua
      • Catasauqua is located in Lehigh County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,606 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Catasauqua <2>
    • Fullerton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fullerton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fullerton
      • Fullerton is located in Lehigh County
    • West Catasauqua
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Hokendauqua
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Coplay
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coplay have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coplay
      • Coplay is located in Lehigh County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,217 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coplay <2>
    • Coopersburg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Seiple
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Seiple. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seiple
      • Seiple is located in Lehigh County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Seiple
      • From Bethlehem to Seiple
    • Wellington
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wellington. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellington
      • Wellington is located in Lehigh County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wellington
      • From Bethlehem to Wellington
    • Emmaus
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Berks County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethlehem, with the one closest to Bethlehem listed first.
    • Red Lion
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Red Lion. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Lion
      • Red Lion is located in Berks County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Red Lion
      • From Bethlehem to Red Lion
    • Rittenhouse Gap
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Hancock
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hancock. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancock
      • Hancock is located in Berks County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hancock
      • From Bethlehem to Hancock
    • Huffs Church
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Dale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Topton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Monterey
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monterey have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
      • Monterey is located in Berks County
    • Landis Store
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Lyons
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lyons have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
      • Lyons is located in Berks County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 478 people
    • Hinterleiter
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Eshbach
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Eagle Point
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Grimville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
  • Bucks County
  • Carbon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethlehem, with the one closest to Bethlehem listed first.
    • Little Gap
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Little Gap. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Gap
      • Little Gap is located in Carbon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Little Gap
      • From Bethlehem to Little Gap
    • Jonesville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Palmerton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Palmerton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmerton
      • Palmerton is located in Carbon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,321 people
    • Bowmanstown
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bowmanstown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowmanstown
      • Bowmanstown is located in Carbon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 881 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bowmanstown <2>
    • Hazard
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hazard. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazard
      • Hazard is located in Carbon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hazard
      • From Bethlehem to Hazard
    • Kittatinny
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kittatinny. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kittatinny
      • Kittatinny is located in Carbon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kittatinny
      • From Bethlehem to Kittatinny
    • Parryville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Ashfield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Germans
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Germans. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germans
      • Germans is located in Carbon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Germans
      • From Bethlehem to Germans
    • Lehighton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Weissport
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weissport have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weissport
      • Weissport is located in Carbon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Weissport <2>
    • Mertz Town
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mertz Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mertz Town
      • Mertz Town is located in Carbon County
    • Jim Thorpe
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Chester County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethlehem, with the one closest to Bethlehem listed first.
    • Fricks Lock
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Kenilworth
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kenilworth have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenilworth
      • Kenilworth is located in Chester County
    • South Pottstown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Pottstown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Pottstown
      • South Pottstown is located in Chester County
  • Monroe County
  • Montgomery County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethlehem, with the one closest to Bethlehem listed first.
    • East Greenville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Greenville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Greenville
      • East Greenville is located in Montgomery County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,937 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for East Greenville <2>
    • Palm
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Hoppenville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Pennsburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pennsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennsburg
      • Pennsburg is located in Montgomery County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,853 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pennsburg <2>
    • Red Hill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill
      • Red Hill is located in Montgomery County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,357 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Red Hill <2>
    • Fruitville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Tylersport
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Green Lane
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Lane have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Lane
      • Green Lane is located in Montgomery County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 505 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Green Lane <2>
    • Pear Tree Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pear Tree Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pear Tree Village
      • Pear Tree Village is located in Montgomery County
    • Telford
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Franconia
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Perkiomenville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Pleasant Run
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Northampton County
  • Schuylkill County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bethlehem, with the one closest to Bethlehem listed first.
    • Andreas
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Mantz
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mantz. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mantz
      • Mantz is located in Schuylkill County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mantz
      • From Bethlehem to Mantz
  • Hunterdon County (NJ)
  • Morris County (NJ)
  • Warren County (NJ)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bethlehem, see our County-by-County Page for Bethlehem.

Cemeteries Near Bethlehem ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bethlehem.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bethlehem covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bethlehem, with the one closest to Bethlehem listed first.

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Bethlehem had a population of 6,762 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Bethlehem had a population of 75,466 people.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Bethlehem, with the one closest to Bethlehem listed first.

  • South Bethlehem
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Bethlehem have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bethlehem
    • South Bethlehem is located in Northampton County
  • Freemansburg
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Seidersville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Shimer
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shimer have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shimer
    • Shimer is located in Northampton County
  • Hellertown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Hanoverville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hanoverville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanoverville
    • Hanoverville is located in Northampton County
  • Rittersville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Farmington
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farmington have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmington
    • Farmington is located in Lehigh County
  • Friedensville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Bingen
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bingen have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bingen
    • Bingen is located in Northampton County
  • Lower Saucon
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Redington
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Redington have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redington
    • Redington is located in Northampton County
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Brodhead
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brodhead have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brodhead
      • Brodhead is located in Northampton County
    • Hecktown
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hecktown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hecktown
      • Hecktown is located in Northampton County
    • Steuben
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Steuben have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steuben
      • Steuben is located in Northampton County

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bethlehem. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bethlehem.

Newspapers Published in Bethlehem ...

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 28 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bethlehem.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bethlehem, there are papers which were published within 8 miles [12.9 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bethlehem.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Bethlehem:

The official website for Bethlehem: www.bethlehem-pa.gov/

The official website for Lehigh County: www.lehighcounty.org/

The official website for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>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.
<5>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 Bethlehem, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Bethlehem) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bethlehem. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.6261, Longitude: -75.3704    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025