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 Bowest (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 Bowest. 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 and doctors 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.
Bowest is located in Fayette 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 Fayette County: Garrett (MD), Greene, Somerset, Washington, Westmoreland, Monongalia (WV) & Preston (WV).
Below are the counties that are near Bowest. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bowest:
- Fayette County (The home county of Bowest)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowest, with the one closest to Bowest listed first.
- South Connellsville
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Dunbar
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Sitka
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Sitka is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sitka
- Connellsville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Rogerstown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Rogerstown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogerstown
- Leisenring
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Leisenring is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisenring
- Vanderbilt
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Independence
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Independence is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Independence
- Dawson
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Dickerson Run
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Dickerson Run is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickerson Run
- Lemont Furnace
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bitner
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Bitner is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bitner
- Laurel Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Laurel Hill is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hill
- Allegheny County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowest, with the one closest to Bowest listed first.
- Sunny Side
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Sunny Side is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Side
- Buena Vista
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Buena Vista is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Boston
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Elizabeth
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lincoln
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lincoln is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,013 people
- West Elizabeth
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Clairton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Versailles
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Versailles is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Versailles
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,452 people
- Jefferson Hills
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Jefferson Hills is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,136 people
- Jefferson Hills has also been known as:
- Jefferson
- Liberty
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,438 people
- Mendelssohn
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mendelssohn is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mendelssohn
- White Oak
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Coal Valley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Coal Valley is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Valley
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowest, with the one closest to Bowest listed first.
- Nemacolin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Nemacolin is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nemacolin
- Stringtown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Stringtown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Cumberland Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Cumberland Village is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
- Greensboro
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Carmichaels
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Fairdale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Fairdale is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
- Rices Landing
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Ceylon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ceylon is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceylon
- Dilliner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Dilliner is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dilliner
- Chartiers
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Chartiers is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartiers
- Clarksville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Jefferson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Jefferson is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
- Khedive
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Khedive is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Khedive
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowest, with the one closest to Bowest listed first.
- Draketown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Draketown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draketown
- Confluence
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- New Lexington
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- New Lexington is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lexington
- Bakersville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Bakersville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
- Ursina
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Ursina is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ursina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
- Casselman
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Casselman is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casselman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- New Centerville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- New Centerville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Centerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
- Addison
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Listonburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Listonburg is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Listonburg
- Markleton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lavansville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Lavansville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavansville
- Rockwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Roytown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Roytown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roytown
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowest, with the one closest to Bowest listed first.
- Blainsburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Blainsburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blainsburg
- Allenport
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Speers
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Speers is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speers
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,061 people
- California
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- West Brownsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- West Brownsville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brownsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
- Dunlevy
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Long Branch
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Long Branch is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
- Population from the 2020 Census: 431 people
- Roscoe
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Roscoe is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roscoe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 791 people
- Stockdale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Twilight
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Twilight is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilight
- Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
- Coal Center
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Elco
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Elco is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elco
- Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
- Daisytown
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowest, with the one closest to Bowest listed first.
- Scottdale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Hawkeye
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Hawkeye is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkeye
- Iron Bridge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Iron Bridge is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Bridge
- West Overton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- West Overton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Overton
- Alverton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Alverton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alverton
- Mount Joy
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Mount Joy is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Joy
- Mount Pleasant
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Smithton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Donegal
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hunker
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- New Stanton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Wyano
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Wyano is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyano
- Kecksburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Kecksburg is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kecksburg
- Garrett County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowest, with the one closest to Bowest listed first.
- Friendsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Accident
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Grantsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Monongalia County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowest, with the one closest to Bowest listed first.
- Cheat Lake
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cheat Lake is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheat Lake
- Canyon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Canyon is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon
- Baker Ridge
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Baker Ridge is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker Ridge
- Bowlby
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bowlby is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowlby
- Maidsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Maidsville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maidsville
- Brookhaven
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Brookhaven is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookhaven
- Star City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Star City is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,984 people
- Preston County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowest, with the one closest to Bowest listed first.
- Clifton Mills
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Clifton Mills is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton Mills
- Brandonville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Brandonville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
- Bruceton Mills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Hazelton
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Little Sandy
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Little Sandy is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Sandy
- Morgans Glade
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Morgans Glade is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgans Glade
- Rockville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Rockville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
- Lenox
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Lenox is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenox
- Orr
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Orr is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orr
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bowest, see our County-by-County Page for Bowest.
Cemeteries Near Bowest ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bowest.
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 Bowest - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bowest covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bowest, with the one closest to Bowest listed first.
- Chestnut Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- St. Josephs Cemetery (Old)
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Franklin Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- St. John's Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- St. Josephs Cemetery (New)
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Hill Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- St. Stephens Byzantine Catholic Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- St. Ritas Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Ritas Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Ritas Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of Connellsville.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #46251 <2>
- Holy Trinity Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holy Trinity Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Holy Trinity Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Connellsville.
- The Holy Trinity Cemetery has also been known as:
- Holy Trinity RC Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1993674 <2>
- St. Emery's Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Emery's Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Emery's Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<3> to the north of Connellsville.
- The St. Emery's Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Emery Cemetery
- St. Emery New Cemetery
- St. Emerys Cemetery
- St. Emory Cemetery
- St. Emory New Cemetery
- St. Emorys Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #46020 <2>
- Lincoln Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Roebuck Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (327 more) ...
- Mt. Tabor Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Cochran Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Green Ridge Memorial Park
(5 miles [8 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.<4>
While we didn't find Bowest in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bowest.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bowest, with the one closest to Bowest listed first.
- Dunbar
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Wheeler
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Wheeler is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler
- Sitka
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Sitka is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sitka
- Ferguson
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ferguson is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferguson
- New Haven
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- New Haven is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Haven
- Connellsville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Trotter
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Trotter is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trotter
- Leisenring
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Leisenring is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisenring
- Crossland
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Crossland is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crossland
- Monarch
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Monarch is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monarch
- Broad Ford
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Broad Ford is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broad Ford
- Mount Braddock
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Braddock is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Braddock
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Percy
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Percy is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Percy
- Adelaide
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Adelaide is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelaide
- Indian Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Indian Creek is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Creek
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bowest. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bowest.
Newspapers Published in Bowest ...
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 44 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bowest.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bowest, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bowest.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Bowest:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Fayette County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegheny County
- Greene County
- Somerset County
- Washington County
- Westmoreland County
- Garrett County
- Monongalia County
- Preston 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> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Bowest) 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 Bowest, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |