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 Blackwood (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 Blackwood. 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 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.
Blackwood is located in Schuylkill 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 Schuylkill County: Berks, Carbon, Columbia, Dauphin, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne & Northumberland.
Below are the counties that are near Blackwood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Blackwood:
- Schuylkill County (The home county of Blackwood)
- The following are listed by their distance from Blackwood, with the one closest to Blackwood listed first.
- Branchdale
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Branchdale is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchdale
- Newtown
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Newtown is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
- Zerbe
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Zerbe is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zerbe
- Forestville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Forestville is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestville
- Forrestville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Forrestville is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forrestville
- Llewellyn
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Tremont
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Tremont is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tremont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,656 people
- Buck Run
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Buck Run is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck Run
- Glendower
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Glendower is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendower
- Marlin
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Marlin is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlin
- Echo Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Echo Valley is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Valley
- Donaldson
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Donaldson is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
- Berks County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blackwood, with the one closest to Blackwood listed first.
- Bethel
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Schubert
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Schubert is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schubert
- Meckville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Meckville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meckville
- Strausstown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Rehrersburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Rehrersburg is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rehrersburg
- Shartlesville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Aetna
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Wintersville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Wintersville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wintersville
- New Schaefferstown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- New Schaefferstown is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Schaefferstown
- Berne
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Berne is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berne
- Bernville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Hamburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Carbon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blackwood, with the one closest to Blackwood listed first.
- Lansford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Tresckow
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Tresckow is located in Carbon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tresckow
- New Mahoning
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- New Mahoning is located in Carbon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Mahoning
- Beaver Meadows
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Coxes Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Coxes Village is located in Carbon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coxes Village
- Coxes Village has also been known as:
- Cross Village
- Summit Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Columbia County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blackwood, with the one closest to Blackwood listed first.
- Locustdale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Centralia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Aristes
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Aristes is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aristes
- Numidia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Numidia is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Numidia
- Newlin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Newlin is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newlin
- Slabtown
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Slabtown is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slabtown
- Queen City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Queen City is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queen City
- Shumans
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Shumans is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shumans
- Catawissa
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Mainville
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Mainville is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mainville
- Rupert
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Rupert is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rupert
- Almedia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Almedia is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almedia
- Dauphin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blackwood, with the one closest to Blackwood listed first.
- Williamstown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Dayton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Dayton is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
- Erdman
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Erdman is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erdman
- Gratz
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Lykens
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Loyalton
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Loyalton is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyalton
- Grantville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Pillow
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Carsonville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Carsonville is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carsonville
- Berrysburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Shellsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Shellsville is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shellsville
- Elizabethville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Lancaster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blackwood, with the one closest to Blackwood listed first.
- Cocalico
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Cocalico is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cocalico
- Blainsport
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Blainsport is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blainsport
- Brickerville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Hopeland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Hopeland is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopeland
- Poplar Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Poplar Grove is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Grove
- Clay
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Clay is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay
- Mount Hope
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Mount Hope is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
- Denver
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Elm
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Elm is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm
- Elstonville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Elstonville is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elstonville
- Stevens
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Lebanon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blackwood, with the one closest to Blackwood listed first.
- Gold Mine
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Gold Mine is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Mine
- Fredericksburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Greble
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Greble is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greble
- Murray
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Murray is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murray
- Inwood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Inwood is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inwood
- Mount Zion
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Mount Zion is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Green Point
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Green Point is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Point
- Lickdale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lickdale is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickdale
- Jonestown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Myerstown
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Bunker Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Bunker Hill is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunker Hill
- Fort Indiantown Gap
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Fort Indiantown Gap is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Indiantown Gap
- Lehigh County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blackwood, with the one closest to Blackwood listed first.
- Jacksonville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Jacksonville is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
- Stines Corner
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Stines Corner is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stines Corner
- Luzerne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blackwood, with the one closest to Blackwood listed first.
- Newtown
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Newtown is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
- Mountain Grove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Mountain Grove is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Grove
- Tomhicken
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Tomhicken is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomhicken
- Harwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Harwood is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harwood
- Conyngham
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- West Hazleton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- West Hazleton is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hazleton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,318 people
- Hazleton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Sybertsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- East Berwick
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- East Berwick is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Berwick
- Nescopeck
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Harleigh
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Beach Haven
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Beach Haven is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach Haven
- Montour County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blackwood, with the one closest to Blackwood listed first.
- Danville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mechanicsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mechanicsville is located in Montour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsville
- Mooresburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mooresburg is located in Montour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mooresburg
- Northumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blackwood, with the one closest to Blackwood listed first.
- Locust Gap
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Locust Gap is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Gap
- Alaska
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Alaska is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alaska
- Dooleyville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dooleyville is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dooleyville
- Mount Carmel
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Gowen City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Gowen City is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowen City
- Marshallton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Marshallton is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshallton
- Natalie
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Natalie is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natalie
- Bear Valley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bear Valley is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Valley
- Shamokin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bear Gap
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bear Gap is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Gap
- Edgewood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Edgewood is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewood
- Leck Kill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Leck Kill is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leck Kill
- Snyder County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blackwood, with the one closest to Blackwood listed first.
- Dundore
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Dundore is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundore
- Port Trevorton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Hummels Wharf
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Shamokin Dam
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Chapman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Chapman is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapman
- McKees Half Falls
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- McKees Half Falls is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKees Half Falls
- Selinsgrove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Blackwood, see our County-by-County Page for Blackwood.
Cemeteries Near Blackwood ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Blackwood.
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 Blackwood - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Blackwood covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Blackwood, with the one closest to Blackwood listed first.
- Mt. Peace Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Welsh Baptist Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Donaldson Community Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Hollernan Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Manbeck Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Yorkville Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Gunkles Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Friends Burying Ground
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- St. Patricks Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- St. Marys Catholic Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Christ Church Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Continue List (209 more) ...
- Sunnyside Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- St. Joseph's Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Brock Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
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, Blackwood had a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Blackwood, with the one closest to Blackwood listed first.
- Branchdale
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Branchdale is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchdale
- Swatara
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Swatara is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swatara
- Steins
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Steins is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steins
- Tremont
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Tremont is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tremont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,656 people
- Silverton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Silverton is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverton
- Llewellyn
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- De Turksville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- De Turksville is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Turksville
- Minersville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Glendower
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Glendower is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendower
- Donaldson
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Donaldson is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
- East Franklin
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- East Franklin is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Franklin
- Rausch Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Rausch Creek is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rausch Creek
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Lorberry Junction
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Lorberry Junction is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorberry Junction
- Friedensburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Heckscherville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Heckscherville is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heckscherville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Blackwood. See our List of 1890's Communities around Blackwood.
Newspapers Published in Blackwood ...
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 90 newspapers that have been published in the area around Blackwood.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Blackwood, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Blackwood.
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 Blackwood:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Schuylkill County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Berks County
- Carbon County
- Columbia County
- Dauphin County
- Lancaster County
- Lebanon County
- Lehigh County
- Luzerne County
- Montour County
- Northumberland County
- Snyder 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 Blackwood, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Blackwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |