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 Bloomsburg (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 Bloomsburg. 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 southeast 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 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 east 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.
Bloomsburg is located in Berks 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 Berks County: Chester, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Montgomery & Schuylkill.
Below are the counties that are near Bloomsburg. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bloomsburg:
- Berks County (The home county of Bloomsburg)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bloomsburg, with the one closest to Bloomsburg listed first.
- Garfield
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Garfield is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
- Rickenbach
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Rickenbach is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rickenbach
- Dauberville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Dauberville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dauberville
- Leesport
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ontelaunee
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Ontelaunee is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontelaunee
- Centerport
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Tuckerton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Tuckerton is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckerton
- Temple
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Shoemakersville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Spring Ridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Spring Ridge is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Ridge
- Laureldale
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Brownsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Brownsville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Bernville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Carbon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bloomsburg, with the one closest to Bloomsburg listed first.
- New Mahoning
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- New Mahoning is located in Carbon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Mahoning
- Germans
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Germans is located in Carbon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germans
- Lansford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Ashfield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ashfield is located in Carbon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashfield
- Mertz Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Mertz Town is located in Carbon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mertz Town
- Chester County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bloomsburg, with the one closest to Bloomsburg listed first.
- Elverson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Pottstown Landing
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Pottstown Landing is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottstown Landing
- Dampman
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Dampman is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dampman
- Honey Brook
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Isabella
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Isabella is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isabella
- Knauertown
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Knauertown is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knauertown
- Loag
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Loag is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loag
- South Pottstown
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- South Pottstown is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Pottstown
- Cambridge
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Cambridge is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
- Cupola
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Cupola is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cupola
- Suplee
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Suplee is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suplee
- Coventryville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Coventryville is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coventryville
- Kenilworth
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Kenilworth is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenilworth
- Columbia County
- Locustdale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lancaster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bloomsburg, with the one closest to Bloomsburg listed first.
- Blainsport
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Blainsport is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blainsport
- Cocalico
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Cocalico is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cocalico
- Denver
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Reamstown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Stevens
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Red Run
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Red Run is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Run
- Terre Hill
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Hopeland
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Hopeland is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopeland
- Clay
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Clay is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay
- Ephrata
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Churchtown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Hinkletown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Hinkletown is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinkletown
- Brickerville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lebanon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bloomsburg, with the one closest to Bloomsburg listed first.
- Newmanstown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sheridan
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Sheridan is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheridan
- Stricklerstown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Stricklerstown is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stricklerstown
- Richland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Myerstown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Schaefferstown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Greble
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Greble is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greble
- Prescott
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Prescott is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescott
- Johnstown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Johnstown is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
- Avon Heights
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Avon Heights is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon Heights
- Mount Zion
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Mount Zion is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Avon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Avon is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
- Fredericksburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Lehigh County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bloomsburg, with the one closest to Bloomsburg listed first.
- New Smithville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- New Smithville is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Smithville
- Stines Corner
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Stines Corner is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stines Corner
- Hynemansville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Hynemansville is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hynemansville
- Jacksonville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Jacksonville is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
- Weisenberg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Weisenberg is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weisenberg
- Seipstown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Seipstown is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seipstown
- Wallner ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Wallner is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallner
- Alburtis
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Hensingersville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Hensingersville is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hensingersville
- Ancient Oaks
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Ancient Oaks is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ancient Oaks
- Lochland
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Lochland is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lochland
- Macungie
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Chapman
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Chapman is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapman
- Luzerne County
- Newtown
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Newtown is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bloomsburg, with the one closest to Bloomsburg listed first.
- Bramcote
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bramcote is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bramcote
- Halfway House
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Halfway House is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halfway House
- Stowe
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- West Pottsgrove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- West Pottsgrove is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pottsgrove
- Gilbertsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Pottstown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Congo
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Congo is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Congo
- Pottsgrove
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Pottsgrove is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottsgrove
- New Hanover
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Fruitville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Fruitville is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitville
- Palm
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Run
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Run is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Run
- Fagleysville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Fagleysville is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fagleysville
- Schuylkill County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bloomsburg, with the one closest to Bloomsburg listed first.
- Port Clinton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Auburn
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Jefferson
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jefferson is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- Deer Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Deer Lake is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 645 people
- Aucheys
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Aucheys is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aucheys
- Summit Station
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Summit Station is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Station
- Lake Wynonah
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lake Wynonah is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wynonah
- Landingville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Landingville is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landingville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
- Moyers
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Moyers is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moyers
- Orwigsburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Rauschs
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Rauschs is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rauschs
- Cressona
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Friedensburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bloomsburg, see our County-by-County Page for Bloomsburg.
Cemeteries Near Bloomsburg ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bloomsburg.
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 Bloomsburg - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bloomsburg covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bloomsburg, with the one closest to Bloomsburg listed first.
- Bern Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Eplers Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eplers Church Cemetery
- The Eplers Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Epler's Reformed Church Cemetery
- Epler's United Church of Christ (UCC) Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #258552 <2>
- Fairview Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Leesport Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- St. Johns Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Good Shepherd Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Laureldale Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Birch Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Viewpoint Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Gethsemane Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- St. Lukes Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Friedens Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friedens Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Friedens Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Bernville.
- The Friedens Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Old Northkill Churchyard Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1498818 <2>
- Continue List (304 more) ...
- Stump Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Hains Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- St. Michaels Union Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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>
While we didn't find Bloomsburg in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bloomsburg.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bloomsburg, with the one closest to Bloomsburg listed first.
- Garfield
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Garfield is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
- Leinbachs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Leinbachs is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leinbachs
- Rickenbach
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Rickenbach is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rickenbach
- West Leesport
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- West Leesport is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leesport
- Leesport
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Dauberville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Dauberville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dauberville
- Ontelaunee
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Ontelaunee is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontelaunee
- Mohrsville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mohrsville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mohrsville
- Centerport
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Tuckerton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Tuckerton is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckerton
- Berkley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Berkley is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkley
- Cacoosing
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Cacoosing is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cacoosing
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Muhlenberg
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Muhlenberg is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muhlenberg
- Laureldale
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Frush Valley
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Frush Valley is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frush Valley
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bloomsburg. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bloomsburg.
Newspapers Published in Bloomsburg ...
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 138 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bloomsburg.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bloomsburg, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bloomsburg.
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 Bloomsburg:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Berks County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Carbon County
- Chester County
- Columbia County
- Lancaster County
- Lebanon County
- Lehigh County
- Luzerne County
- Montgomery County
- Schuylkill 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 Bloomsburg, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Bloomsburg) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |