RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> Commonwealth of Pennsylvania >> Westmoreland County >> Blackstone >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Blackstone (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 Blackstone. 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 southwest 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 south.

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 south 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.

Blackstone is located in Westmoreland 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 Westmoreland County: Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler, Cambria, Fayette, Indiana & Somerset.

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

  • Westmoreland County     (The home county of Blackstone)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blackstone, with the one closest to Blackstone listed first.
    • Bagdad
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Bagdad is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagdad
    • West Leechburg
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • West Leechburg is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leechburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,211 people
    • Hyde Park
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Weinel Crossroads
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Weinel Crossroads is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weinel Crossroads
    • East Vandergrift
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • East Vandergrift is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Vandergrift
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 631 people
    • Vandergrift
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Oklahoma
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Oklahoma is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oklahoma
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 739 people
    • Lower Burrell
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Arnold
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Arnold is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,790 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arnold <1>
    • New Kensington
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • North Washington
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • North Washington is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Washington
    • Parnassus
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Parnassus is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnassus
    • Salina
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Allegheny County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blackstone, with the one closest to Blackstone listed first.
    • Sligo
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Sligo is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sligo
    • Karns
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Karns is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Karns
    • Natrona
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Natrona is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natrona
    • Brackenridge
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Tarentum
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Culmerville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Culmerville is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Culmerville
    • Rural Ridge
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Springdale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Curtisville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Curtisville is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtisville
    • Russellton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Cheswick
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Harwick
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Harwick is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harwick
    • Indianola
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Armstrong County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blackstone, with the one closest to Blackstone listed first.
    • Freeport
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Aladdin
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Aladdin is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aladdin
    • Leechburg
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • McVille
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • McVille is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McVille
    • Neale
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Neale is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neale
    • Slate Lick
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Slate Lick is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slate Lick
    • Apollo
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Apollo is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apollo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,507 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Apollo <1>
    • North Apollo
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Rosston
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Rosston is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosston
    • Tunnelville ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Tunnelville is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnelville
    • West Ford City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • West Ford City is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Ford City
    • Orchard Hills
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Orchard Hills is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
    • Ford City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Beaver County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blackstone, with the one closest to Blackstone listed first.
    • Economy
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Economy is located in Beaver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Economy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,022 people
    • Knob
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Knob is located in Beaver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knob
    • Wallace City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Wallace City is located in Beaver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallace City
    • Ambridge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Baden
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Conway
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Butler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blackstone, with the one closest to Blackstone listed first.
    • Monroe
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Monroe is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
    • Leasureville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Leasureville is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leasureville
    • Ekastown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Ekastown is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ekastown
    • Dennys Mills
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Dennys Mills is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennys Mills
    • Saxonburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Frazier Mill
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Frazier Mill is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazier Mill
    • Great Belt
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Great Belt is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Belt
    • Fenelton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Herman
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Glade Mills
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Glade Mills is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade Mills
    • Nixon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Nixon is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nixon
    • Meadowood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Meadowood is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowood
    • Oak Hills
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Oak Hills is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hills
  • Clarion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blackstone, with the one closest to Blackstone listed first.
    • Phillipston
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Phillipston is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillipston
    • East Brady
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Catfish
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Catfish is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catfish
    • Lawsonham
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Lawsonham is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonham
    • Bela
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Bela is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bela
    • Rimersburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Leatherwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Leatherwood is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherwood
    • New Bethlehem
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Toby
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Toby is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toby
    • Fairmont City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • West Freedom
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • West Freedom is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Freedom
    • Piolett
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Piolett is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piolett
  • Indiana County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blackstone, with the one closest to Blackstone listed first.
    • Saltsburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • West Lebanon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • West Lebanon is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lebanon
    • Clarksburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • White
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • White is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
    • Parkwood
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Parkwood is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
    • Shelocta
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Bow
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Bow is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow
    • Aultman
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Aultman is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aultman
    • Jacksonville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jacksonville is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
    • Shado-Wood Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Shado-Wood Village is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shado-Wood Village
    • Willet
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Willet is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willet
    • Creekside
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Creekside is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creekside
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
    • Smathers
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Smathers is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smathers

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

Cemeteries Near Blackstone ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Blackstone.

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

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

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

  • Brookland Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Freeport Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Freeport Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of Freeport.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #44888 <2>
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • St. Catherine Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • St. Catherines Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Forks - Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forks - Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Forks - Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the north of Leechburg.
    • The Forks - Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Forks - Zion Lutheran Evangelical Church Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #629382 <2>
  • Murphys Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Mt. Airy Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Leechburg Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (357 more) ...
    • Greenwood Memorial Park
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • St. Marys Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Bethesda Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)

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 Blackstone in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Blackstone.

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

  • Bagdad
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Bagdad is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagdad
  • Freeport
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Aladdin
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Aladdin is located in Armstrong County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aladdin
  • Sligo
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Sligo is located in Allegheny County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sligo
  • Garvers Ferry
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Garvers Ferry is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garvers Ferry
  • Karns
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Karns is located in Allegheny County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Karns
  • Metcalf
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Metcalf is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metcalf
  • Leechburg
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Natrona
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Natrona is located in Allegheny County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natrona
  • Braeburn
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Braeburn is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braeburn
  • Monroe
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Monroe is located in Butler County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
  • Brackenridge
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Vandergrift
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Neale
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Neale is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neale
    • McVille
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • McVille is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McVille

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

Newspapers Published in Blackstone ...

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 15 newspapers that have been published in the area around Blackstone.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Blackstone, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Blackstone.

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 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 Blackstone:

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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Blackstone) 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 Blackstone, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.