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 Run (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 Run. 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 Big Run ...
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.
Another variation: Bigrun.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Big Run. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Big Run.
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.
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 and hospitals 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 Run is located in Lawrence 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 Lawrence County: Columbiana (OH), Mahoning (OH), Beaver, Butler & Mercer.
Below are the counties that are near Big Run. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Big Run:
- Armstrong County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Run, with the one closest to Big Run listed first.
- McWilliams
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- McWilliams is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McWilliams
- Dayton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Barnards
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Barnards is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnards
- Eddyville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Eddyville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eddyville
- Millville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Millville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millville
- Bryan
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Bryan is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan
- Putneyville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Putneyville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putneyville
- Muff
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Muff is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muff
- South Bethlehem
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- South Bethlehem is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bethlehem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 443 people
- Atwood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Atwood is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 100 people
- Rural Valley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Echo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Echo is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
- Yatesboro
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Yatesboro is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yatesboro
- Cambria County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Run, with the one closest to Big Run listed first.
- Garmantown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Garmantown is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garmantown
- Barnesboro
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Barnesboro is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnesboro
- West Branch
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- West Branch is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Branch
- Hastings
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Northern Cambria
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Northern Cambria is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northern Cambria
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,456 people
- Spangler
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Spangler is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spangler
- Thomas Mills
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Thomas Mills is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Mills
- Nicktown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Nicktown is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicktown
- Saint Benedict
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Saint Benedict is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Benedict
- Flinton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Patton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Carrolltown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Elmora
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Elmora is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmora
- Clarion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Run, with the one closest to Big Run listed first.
- Hawthorn
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Crates
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Crates is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crates
- Fairmont City
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- New Bethlehem
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Day
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Day is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Day
- Frogtown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Frogtown is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frogtown
- Waterson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Waterson is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterson
- Brinkerton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Brinkerton is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brinkerton
- Mechanicsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mechanicsville is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsville
- Leatherwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Leatherwood is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherwood
- Strattanville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Piolett
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Piolett is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piolett
- Cooksburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Clearfield County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Run, with the one closest to Big Run listed first.
- Troutville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Troutville is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troutville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Helvetia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Helvetia is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helvetia
- Stanley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Stanley is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanley
- Luthersburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mahaffey
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Curry Run
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Curry Run is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curry Run
- Sandy
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sandy is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy
- Bower
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bower is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bower
- Burnside
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Burnside is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnside
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Laborde
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Laborde is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laborde
- DuBois
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Grampian
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Cherry Corner
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Cherry Corner is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Corner
- Elk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Run, with the one closest to Big Run listed first.
- Brockport
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Horton City
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Horton City is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton City
- Shawmut
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Shawmut is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawmut
- Challenge
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Challenge is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Challenge
- Scattertown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Scattertown is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scattertown
- Lake City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Kylers Corners
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Kylers Corners is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kylers Corners
- Millstone
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Millstone is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millstone
- Byrnedale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hallton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Hallton is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallton
- Caledonia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Caledonia is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caledonia
- Dagus Mines
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Dagus Mines is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dagus Mines
- Forest County
- Clarington
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Run, with the one closest to Big Run listed first.
- Johnsonburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Johnsonburg is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsonburg
- Rossiter
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Urey
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Urey is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urey
- Glen Campbell
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Marchand
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Marchand is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marchand
- Hooverhurst
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Hooverhurst is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooverhurst
- Rochester Mills
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rochester Mills is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester Mills
- Savan
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Savan is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savan
- Trade City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Trade City is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trade City
- Mottarns Mill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Mottarns Mill is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mottarns Mill
- Hillsdale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Hillsdale is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Georgeville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Georgeville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgeville
- Cherry Tree
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Cherry Tree is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Tree
- Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Big Run, with the one closest to Big Run listed first.
- Winslow
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Winslow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winslow
- Albion
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Albion is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Wishaw
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Wishaw is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wishaw
- Punxsutawney
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Sykesville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Panic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Panic is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panic
- Prescottville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Prescottville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescottville
- Reynoldsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Oliveburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Oliveburg is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oliveburg
- Valier
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Valier is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valier
- Fuller
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fuller is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Green Valley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Green Valley is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Valley
- Pancoast
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Pancoast is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pancoast
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Big Run, see our County-by-County Page for Big Run.
Cemeteries Near Big Run ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Big Run.
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 Run - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Big Run covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Big Run, with the one closest to Big Run listed first.
- McClure Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Bowers Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Ridgemont Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Circle Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Oak Lawn Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pearce Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- St. Adrian Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Anita Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Calvary Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvary Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Calvary Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Punxsutawney.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1966411 <2>
- Shaffer Memorial Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (165 more) ...
- Holy Trinity Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Soldier Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
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 in 1895, Big Run had railroad service and no post office. In 2020, Big Run had a population of 594 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Big Run, with the one closest to Big Run listed first.
- Bells Mills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Bells Mills is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bells Mills
- Winslow
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Winslow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winslow
- Cramer
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cramer is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cramer
- Elbell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Elbell is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbell
- Hillman
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Hillman is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillman
- Adrian Mines
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Adrian Mines is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adrian Mines
- Punxsutawney
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Flora
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Flora is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flora
- Anita
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Anita is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anita
- Troutville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Troutville is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troutville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Sykesville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Panic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Panic is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panic
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Walston
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Walston is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walston
- Horatio
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Horatio is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horatio
- Sidney
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Sidney is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidney
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Big Run. See our List of 1890's Communities around Big Run.
Newspapers Published in Big Run ...
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 42 newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Run.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Big Run, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Big Run.
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 Big Run:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Lawrence County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Armstrong County
- Cambria County
- Clarion County
- Clearfield County
- Elk County
- Forest County
- Indiana County
- Jefferson 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 Run, 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 Run) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |