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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 Big Spring (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 Spring. 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 Spring ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Big Spring: Big Spg. (or less commonly used: Big Spng. or Big Sprng.)

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Big Spring. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Big Spring.

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 Spring is located in Centre 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 Centre County: Blair, Cambria, Clearfield, Clinton, Huntingdon, Mifflin & Union.

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

  • Centre County     (The home county of Big Spring)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
    • Bellefonte
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Axemann
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Axemann is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Axemann
    • Central City
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Central City is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central City
    • Milesburg
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Wingate
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Wingate is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wingate
    • Pleasant Gap
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Curtin
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Curtin is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtin
    • Unionville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Zion
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Zion is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion
    • Houserville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Houserville is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houserville
    • Centre Hall
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Lemont
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Linden Hall
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Linden Hall is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden Hall
  • Blair County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
    • Tyrone Forge
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Tyrone Forge is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone Forge
    • Tyrone
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Grazierville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Grazierville is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grazierville
  • Clearfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
    • Kylertown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Keewaydin
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Keewaydin is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keewaydin
    • Pottersdale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Pottersdale is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottersdale
    • Chester Hill
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Chester Hill is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester Hill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 820 people
    • Morrisdale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Osceola Mills
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Wallaceton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Wallaceton is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallaceton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
    • West Decatur
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • West Decatur is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Decatur
      • West Decatur has also been known as:
      • Blue Ball
      • Decatur
    • Shiloh
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Shiloh is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
    • Ashland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Ashland is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
    • Parsonsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Parsonsville is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsonsville
    • Brisbin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Brisbin is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brisbin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 385 people
    • Woodland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Clinton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
    • Abdera
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Abdera is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abdera
    • Lamar
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Tylersville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Tylersville is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tylersville
    • Beech Creek
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Cedar Springs
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Cedar Springs is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Springs
    • Mill Hall
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Salona
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Salona is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salona
    • Flemington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Flemington is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flemington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,312 people
    • Rote
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Rote is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rote
    • Greenburr
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Greenburr is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenburr
    • Castanea
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Farrandsville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Farrandsville is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrandsville
    • Lock Haven
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Huntingdon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
    • Ennisville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Ennisville is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ennisville
    • Dungarvin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Dungarvin is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dungarvin
    • Neffs Mills
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Neffs Mills is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neffs Mills
    • Seven Stars
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Seven Stars is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
    • Huntingdon Furnace
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Huntingdon Furnace is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntingdon Furnace
    • Pennington
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Pennington is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
    • Donation
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Donation is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donation
    • Petersburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Birmingham
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Birmingham is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
    • Alexandria
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Water Street
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Water Street is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Street
  • Juniata County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
    • Mifflin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Mifflin is located in Juniata County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mifflin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 606 people
    • Mifflintown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Mifflin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
    • Milroy
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Kishacoquillas
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Kishacoquillas is located in Mifflin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kishacoquillas
    • Honey Creek
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Honey Creek is located in Mifflin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
    • Lumber City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Lumber City is located in Mifflin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumber City
    • Reedsville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Belleville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Yeagertown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Menno
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Menno is located in Mifflin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menno
    • Burnham
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Highland Park
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Highland Park is located in Mifflin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Park
    • Alfarata
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Alfarata is located in Mifflin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alfarata
    • Juniata Terrace
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Juniata Terrace is located in Mifflin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juniata Terrace
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
    • Lewistown Junction
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Lewistown Junction is located in Mifflin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewistown Junction
  • Snyder County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
    • Bannerville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Bannerville is located in Snyder County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bannerville
    • McClure
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Middle Creek
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Middle Creek is located in Snyder County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Creek
    • Troxelville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Troxelville is located in Snyder County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troxelville
  • Union County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Big Spring, with the one closest to Big Spring listed first.
    • Cherry Run
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Cherry Run is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Run
    • Pardee
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Pardee is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pardee
    • Glen Iron
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Glen Iron is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Iron
    • Laurelton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Laurelton is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelton

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

Cemeteries Near Big Spring ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Big Spring.

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 Spring - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Union Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Trcziyulny Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Meyer Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Benner Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Shiloh Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh Lutheran Church Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Shiloh Lutheran Church Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of State College.
    • The Shiloh Lutheran Church Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Shiloh Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1885601 <2>
  • Centre County Memorial Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Oak Ridge Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Slab Cabin Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Union Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Schencks Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Campbell Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (153 more) ...

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.<4>

While we didn't find Big Spring in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Big Spring.

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

  • Bellefonte
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Axemann
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Axemann is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Axemann
  • Wingate
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Wingate is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wingate
  • Milesburg
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Pleasant Gap
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Curtin
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Curtin is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtin
  • Unionville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Dale Summit
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Dale Summit is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale Summit
  • Zion
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Zion is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion
  • Fillmore
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Fillmore is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fillmore
  • Houserville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Houserville is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houserville
  • Centre Hall
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Mount Eagle
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Mount Eagle is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Eagle
    • Gum Stump
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Gum Stump is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Stump
    • Linden Hall
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Linden Hall is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden Hall

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

Newspapers Published in Big Spring ...

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 73 newspapers that have been published in the area around Big Spring.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Big Spring, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Big Spring.

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 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 Spring:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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 Spring) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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 Spring, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.