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 Big Bend (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 Big Bend. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Big Bend 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 Big Bend. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Big Bend:
- Mercer County (The home county of Big Bend)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Bend, with the one closest to Big Bend listed first.
- Coolspring
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Coolspring is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coolspring
- Kremis
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Kremis is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kremis
- Fredonia
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mercer
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Kashner
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Kashner is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kashner
- Shenango
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Shenango is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shenango
- Hermitage
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Carbon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Carbon is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
- Sharpsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Jackson Center
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Greenville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Millburn
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Millburn is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millburn
- Sharon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Beaver County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Bend, with the one closest to Big Bend listed first.
- Ellwood City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Wurtemburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Wurtemburg is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wurtemburg
- Frisco
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Frisco is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frisco
- Lillyville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Lillyville is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lillyville
- North Sewickley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- North Sewickley is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Sewickley
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Bend, with the one closest to Big Bend listed first.
- Harrisville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Forestville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Forestville is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestville
- Slippery Rock
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Branchton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Branchton is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchton
- Bovard
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Bovard is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bovard
- West Liberty
(23 miles [37 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
- Murrinsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Murrinsville is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murrinsville
- Hallston
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hallston is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallston
- Portersville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Ferris
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ferris is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferris
- Cherry Valley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Cherry Valley is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Valley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 62 people
- Eau Claire
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Prospect
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Bend, with the one closest to Big Bend listed first.
- Adamsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Adamsville is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
- Atlantic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Atlantic is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlantic
- Pymatuning South
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Pymatuning South is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pymatuning South
- Turner
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Turner is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turner
- Turnersville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Turnersville is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnersville
- Hartstown
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Hartstown is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartstown
- Geneva
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Geneva is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
- Westford
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Westford is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westford
- Cochranton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Conneaut Lake
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Pymatuning Central
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Pymatuning Central is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pymatuning Central
- Lynces Junction
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Lynces Junction is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynces Junction
- Deckard
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Deckard is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deckard
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Bend, with the one closest to Big Bend listed first.
- New Wilmington
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Volant
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Pulaski
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Pulaski is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulaski
- Nashua
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Nashua is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashua
- New Bedford
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- New Bedford is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bedford
- Edinburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Harlansburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Harlansburg is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlansburg
- McCaslin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- McCaslin is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCaslin
- New Castle
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Oakwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Oakwood is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
- West New Castle
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- West New Castle is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West New Castle
- Robinson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Robinson is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
- Oakland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Oakland is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Venango County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Bend, with the one closest to Big Bend listed first.
- Henderson Station
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Henderson Station is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henderson Station
- Barkeyville
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Pearl
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Pearl is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl
- Nectarine
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Nectarine is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nectarine
- Polk
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Polk is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polk
- Population from the 2020 Census: 768 people
- Utica
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Utica is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utica
- Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
- Bullion
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Bullion is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullion
- Clintonville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Nicklin
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Nicklin is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicklin
- Sugarcreek
(24 miles [38.6 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
- Uniontown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Uniontown is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
- Coal City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Coal City is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Franklin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- York County
- Adamsville
(15 miles [24.1 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 Big Bend, with the one closest to Big Bend listed first.
- Simons
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Simons is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simons
- Stanhope
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Stanhope is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanhope
- West Williamsfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- West Williamsfield is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Williamsfield
- Wick
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Wick is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wick
- Andover
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- West Andover
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- West Andover is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Andover
- Colebrook
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Colebrook is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colebrook
- Richmond Center
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Richmond Center is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond Center
- Franklin County (OH)
- Hilltop
(23 miles [37 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 Big Bend, with the one closest to Big Bend listed first.
- Campbell
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hazelton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hazelton is located in Mahoning County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelton
- Lowellville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Youngstown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Struthers
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Perkins Corners
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Perkins Corners is located in Mahoning County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perkins Corners
- Poland
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Boardman
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cornersburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cornersburg is located in Mahoning County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornersburg
- Mineral Ridge
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- New Middletown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Austintown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- West Austintown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- West Austintown is located in Mahoning County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Austintown
- Trumbull County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Bend, with the one closest to Big Bend listed first.
- Five Points
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Five Points is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
- West Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- West Hill is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hill
- Orangeville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Orangeville is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orangeville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Weldon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Weldon is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weldon
- Masury
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Brookfield Center
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Brookfield Center is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield Center
- Yankee Lake
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Yankee Lake is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yankee Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 74 people
- Burghill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Hartford
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Hartford is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
- Superior ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Superior is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Superior
- Vernon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Vernon is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
- Coalburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Coalburg is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalburg
- Hubbard
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Big Bend, see our County-by-County Page for Big Bend.
Cemeteries Near Big Bend ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Big Bend.
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 Big Bend - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Big Bend covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Big Bend, with the one closest to Big Bend listed first.
- Zahniser Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Delaware Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Millbank Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millbank Cemetery
- The Millbank Cemetery has also been known as:
- Fredonia Cemetery
- Zion Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Mercer Citizens Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercer Citizens Cemetery
- The Mercer Citizens Cemetery has also been known as:
- Citizens Cemetery
- Old Cool Spring Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Busch Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- St. Rose Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Findley Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Salem Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Continue List (325 more) ...
- Good Hope Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- America's Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Holy Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
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 Big Bend in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Big Bend.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Big Bend, with the one closest to Big Bend listed first.
- New Hamburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- New Hamburg is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hamburg
- Fredonia
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Kremis
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Kremis is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kremis
- Hoagland
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Hoagland is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoagland
- Mercer
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Neshannock
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Oakland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Oakland is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Kashner
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Kashner is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kashner
- Transfer
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hermitage
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bethel
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bethel is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Turner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Turner is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turner
- Continue List (20 more) ...
- North Mills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- North Mills is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Mills
- Shenango
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Shenango is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shenango
- Sharpsville
(8 miles [12.9 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 Big Bend. See our List of 1890's Communities around Big Bend.
Newspapers Published in Big Bend ...
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 95 newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Bend.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Big Bend, 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 Big Bend.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Big Bend:
- 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
- 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 Big Bend, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Big Bend) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |