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 Bowood (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 Bowood. 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.
Bowood 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 Bowood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bowood:
- Fayette County (The home county of Bowood)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowood, with the one closest to Bowood listed first.
- Woodside
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Woodside is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodside
- Shoaf
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Shoaf is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoaf
- Smithfield
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Highhouse
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Highhouse is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highhouse
- Masontown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- New Geneva
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- New Geneva is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Geneva
- Fayette
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Fayette is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
- Hoover
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Hoover is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoover
- McClellandtown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Morris Crossroads
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Morris Crossroads is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morris Crossroads
- Haydentown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Haydentown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haydentown
- Atlantic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Atlantic is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlantic
- Allegheny County
- Sunny Side
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Sunny Side is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Side
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowood, with the one closest to Bowood listed first.
- Greensboro
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Nemacolin
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Nemacolin is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nemacolin
- Dilliner
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Dilliner is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dilliner
- Ceylon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ceylon is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceylon
- Fairdale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Fairdale is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
- Carmichaels
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Cumberland Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Cumberland Village is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
- Stringtown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Stringtown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Dunkard
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Dunkard is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunkard
- Khedive
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Khedive is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Khedive
- Rices Landing
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fordyce
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Fordyce is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fordyce
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowood, with the one closest to Bowood listed first.
- Draketown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Draketown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draketown
- Confluence
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Addison
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Ursina
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Ursina is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ursina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
- Listonburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Listonburg is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Listonburg
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowood, with the one closest to Bowood listed first.
- Fredericktown - Millsboro
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Millsboro
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Blainsburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Blainsburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blainsburg
- West Brownsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- West Brownsville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brownsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
- Deemston
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Deemston is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deemston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 696 people
- California
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Coal Center
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Daisytown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Centerville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Centerville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,133 people
- Allenport
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Elco
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Elco is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elco
- Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
- Speers
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Speers is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speers
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,061 people
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowood, with the one closest to Bowood listed first.
- Gibsonton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Gibsonton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonton
- North Belle Vernon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- North Belle Vernon is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Belle Vernon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,842 people
- Monessen
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Smithton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Scottdale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Webster
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Webster is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Hawkeye
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hawkeye is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkeye
- West Overton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- West Overton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Overton
- Alverton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Alverton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alverton
- Iron Bridge
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Iron Bridge is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Bridge
- West Newton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Wyano
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Wyano is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyano
- Garrett County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowood, with the one closest to Bowood listed first.
- Friendsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Accident
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Marion County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowood, with the one closest to Bowood listed first.
- Hoodsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Hoodsville is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoodsville
- Pleasant View
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant View is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Grant Town
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Grant Town is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Town
- Population from the 2020 Census: 590 people
- Mount Harmony
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Harmony is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Harmony
- Rivesville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Canton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Canton is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
- Fairview
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Estimated population in 2021: 373 people
- Neel ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Neel is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neel
- Barrackville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Barrackville is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrackville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,270 people
- Fairmont
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Palatine
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Palatine is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palatine
- Samaria
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Samaria is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samaria
- Monongalia County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowood, with the one closest to Bowood listed first.
- Canyon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Canyon is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon
- Cheat Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Cheat Lake is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheat Lake
- Baker Ridge
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Baker Ridge is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker Ridge
- Bowlby
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bowlby is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowlby
- Maidsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Maidsville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maidsville
- Osage
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Osage is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osage
- Star City
(13 miles [20.9 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
- Westover
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Brookhaven
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Brookhaven is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookhaven
- Granville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Granville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,156 people
- Morgantown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cassville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cassville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassville
- Preston County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bowood, with the one closest to Bowood listed first.
- Clifton Mills
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Clifton Mills is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton Mills
- Brandonville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Brandonville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
- Bruceton Mills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Rockville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Rockville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
- Little Sandy
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Little Sandy is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Sandy
- Masontown
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Morgans Glade
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Morgans Glade is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgans Glade
- Hazelton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Reedsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Arthurdale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Lenox
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lenox is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenox
- Albright
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bowood, see our County-by-County Page for Bowood.
Cemeteries Near Bowood ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bowood.
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 Bowood - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bowood covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bowood, with the one closest to Bowood listed first.
- Green Dale Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Ache Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Cedar Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Cedar Grove Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of Atlantic.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #44539 <2>
- St. Agnes Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Monongahela Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mt. Moriah Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- St. Josephs Cemetery (Fairchance)
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Fairchance Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairchance Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Fairchance Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Fairchance.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1969827 <2>
- Fairchance Veterans Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Maple Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (412 more) ...
- Donham Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Cagey Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Lackey Cemetery
(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.<3>
While we didn't find Bowood in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bowood.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bowood, with the one closest to Bowood listed first.
- Old Frame
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Old Frame is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Frame
- Woodside
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Woodside is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodside
- Smithfield
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- New Geneva
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- New Geneva is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Geneva
- Highhouse
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Highhouse is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highhouse
- Masontown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Fayette
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Fayette is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
- McClellandtown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Morris Crossroads
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Morris Crossroads is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morris Crossroads
- Haydentown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Haydentown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haydentown
- Winstead
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Winstead is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winstead
- Dilliner
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Dilliner is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dilliner
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Mapletown
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Mapletown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapletown
- Point Marion
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Oliphant Furnace
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Oliphant Furnace is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oliphant Furnace
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bowood. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bowood.
Newspapers Published in Bowood ...
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 37 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bowood.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bowood, there are papers which were published within 8 miles [12.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bowood.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Bowood:
- 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
- Marion 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> | 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 Bowood, 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- Bowood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |