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 Black Ridge (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 Black Ridge. 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 Black Ridge ...
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 Black Ridge: Black Rdg. (or less commonly used: Black Rdge. or Black Ridg.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Black Ridge. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Black Ridge.
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.
Black Ridge is located in Allegheny 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 Allegheny County: Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Washington & Westmoreland.
Below are the counties that are near Black Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Black Ridge:
- Allegheny County (The home county of Black Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Black Ridge, with the one closest to Black Ridge listed first.
- Nadine
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Nadine is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nadine
- Churchill
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Churchill is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churchill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,902 people
- Wilkinsburg
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Blawnox
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Braddock Hills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Braddock Hills is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braddock Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,772 people
- Forest Hills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Forest Hills is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,256 people
- Edgewood
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Edgewood is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,983 people
- Swissvale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Garden City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Garden City is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Aspinwall
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Braddock
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Chalfant
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Chalfant is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalfant
- Population from the 2020 Census: 765 people
- East Pittsburgh
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Armstrong County
- The following are listed by their distance from Black Ridge, with the one closest to Black Ridge listed first.
- Apollo
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Freeport
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Leechburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Edmon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Edmon is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmon
- Aladdin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Aladdin is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aladdin
- North Apollo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Orchard Hills
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Orchard Hills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
- McVille
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- McVille is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McVille
- Spring Church
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Neale
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Neale is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neale
- Olivet
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Olivet is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
- Slate Lick
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Slate Lick is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slate Lick
- Cochrans Mills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cochrans Mills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrans Mills
- Beaver County
- The following are listed by their distance from Black Ridge, with the one closest to Black Ridge listed first.
- Ambridge
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- South Heights
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- South Heights is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 437 people
- Economy
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Economy is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Economy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,022 people
- Baden
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Crestmont Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Crestmont Village is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crestmont Village
- Wallace City
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Wallace City is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallace City
- Gringo
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Gringo is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gringo
- Aliquippa
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Conway
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Knob
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Knob is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knob
- New Sheffield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- New Sheffield is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Sheffield
- Freedom
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- East Rochester
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- East Rochester is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Rochester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 526 people
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Black Ridge, with the one closest to Black Ridge listed first.
- Valencia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ekastown
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Ekastown is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ekastown
- Glade Mills
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Glade Mills is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade Mills
- Monroe
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Monroe is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
- Mars
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Seven Fields
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Seven Fields is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Fields
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,740 people
- Frazier Mill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Frazier Mill is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazier Mill
- Saxonburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Fox Run
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Fox Run is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Run
- Leasureville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Leasureville is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leasureville
- Callery
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Myoma
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Myoma is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myoma
- Ogle
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ogle is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogle
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Black Ridge, with the one closest to Black Ridge listed first.
- Belle Vernon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Lynnwood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Lynnwood is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynnwood
- Arnold City
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Arnold City is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold City
- Banning
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Banning is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banning
- Fairhope
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Fairhope is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhope
- Brownstown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Brownstown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownstown
- Fayette City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Fayette City is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 569 people
- Whitsett
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Whitsett is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitsett
- Fuller
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Fuller is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Lynn
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Lynn is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
- Perryopolis
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Kenneth
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Kenneth is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenneth
- Newell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Newell is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 492 people
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Black Ridge, with the one closest to Black Ridge listed first.
- White
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- White is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Bow
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Bow is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow
- Clarksburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Saltsburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- West Lebanon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- West Lebanon is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lebanon
- Jacksonville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Jacksonville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Black Ridge, with the one closest to Black Ridge listed first.
- Ellsworth
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Ellsworth is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellsworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
- Gastonville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Gastonville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gastonville
- Finleyville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- New Eagle
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- McMurray
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Thompsonville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Thompsonville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompsonville
- Black Diamond
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Black Diamond is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Diamond
- Monongahela
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Riverview
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Riverview is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
- Baidland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Baidland is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baidland
- Donora
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Gilkeson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Gilkeson is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilkeson
- MacDonald
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- MacDonald is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for MacDonald
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Black Ridge, with the one closest to Black Ridge listed first.
- Trafford
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Murrysville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Parnassus
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Parnassus is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnassus
- Arnold
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- New Kensington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Franklin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Franklin is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Larimer
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Larimer is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larimer
- Lower Burrell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Irwin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Irwin is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,716 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irwin <1>
- North Irwin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- North Irwin is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Irwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Shafton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Shafton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shafton
- Export
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Harrison City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Black Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for Black Ridge.
Cemeteries Near Black Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Black Ridge.
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 Black Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Black Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Black Ridge, with the one closest to Black Ridge listed first.
- Beulah Presbyterian Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Hebron Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- St. Nicholas Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Sons of Israel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- William Penn Gardens of Remembrance
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Mt. Carmel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Monongahela Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monongahela Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Monongahela Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Braddock.
- The Monongahela Cemetery has also been known as:
- North Braddock Monongahela Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #45445 <2>
- All Saints Braddock Catholic Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Churchill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Hope Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Richey Family Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (438 more) ...
- Sunset View Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- St. Peters Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Homewood Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 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>
While we didn't find Black Ridge in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Black Ridge.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Black Ridge, with the one closest to Black Ridge listed first.
- Wilkinsburg
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Nadine
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Nadine is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nadine
- Sandy Creek
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Sandy Creek is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Creek
- Swissvale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Brushton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Brushton is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushton
- Homewood
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Homewood is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homewood
- Braddock
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Turtle Creek
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Monroeville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Verona
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Aspinwall
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- East Liberty
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- East Liberty is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Liberty
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Homestead
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Munhall
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Whitaker
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Black Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Black Ridge.
Newspapers Published in Black Ridge ...
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 434 newspapers that have been published in the area around Black Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Black Ridge, there are papers which were published within 7 miles [11.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Black Ridge.
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 helpful 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 Black Ridge:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Allegheny County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Armstrong County
- Beaver County
- Butler County
- Fayette County
- Indiana County
- Washington County
- Westmoreland 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 Black Ridge, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Black Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |