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 Brookside (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 Brookside. 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.
Brookside 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 Brookside. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Brookside:
- Schuylkill County (The home county of Brookside)
- The following are listed by their distance from Brookside, with the one closest to Brookside listed first.
- Marstown
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Marstown is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marstown
- Pine Grove
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Paradise
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Paradise is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
- Beuchler
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Beuchler is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beuchler
- Irving
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Irving is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
- Ravine
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Ravine is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravine
- Echo Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Echo Valley is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Valley
- Lorberry Junction
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Lorberry Junction is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorberry Junction
- Suedberg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Suedberg is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suedberg
- East Franklin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- East Franklin is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Franklin
- Tremont
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Tremont is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tremont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,656 people
- Joliett
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Joliett is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joliett
- Keffers
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Keffers is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keffers
- Berks County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brookside, with the one closest to Brookside listed first.
- Meckville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Meckville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meckville
- Bethel
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Schubert
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Schubert is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schubert
- Mount Aetna
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Rehrersburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Rehrersburg is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rehrersburg
- Wintersville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Wintersville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wintersville
- Strausstown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- New Schaefferstown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- New Schaefferstown is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Schaefferstown
- Shartlesville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Bernville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Womelsdorf
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- North Heidelberg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- North Heidelberg is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Heidelberg
- Robesonia
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Columbia County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brookside, with the one closest to Brookside listed first.
- Locustdale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Centralia
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Aristes
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Aristes is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aristes
- Newlin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Newlin is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newlin
- Numidia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Numidia is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Numidia
- Slabtown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Slabtown is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slabtown
- Queen City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Queen City is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queen City
- Catawissa
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Shumans
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Shumans is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shumans
- Mainville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Mainville is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mainville
- Dauphin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brookside, with the one closest to Brookside listed first.
- Williamstown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Dayton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Dayton is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
- Lykens
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Erdman
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Erdman is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erdman
- Grantville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Shellsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Shellsville is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shellsville
- Gratz
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Loyalton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Loyalton is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyalton
- Carsonville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Carsonville is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carsonville
- Hershey
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Manadahill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Manadahill is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manadahill
- Bachmanville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bachmanville is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bachmanville
- Berrysburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Lancaster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brookside, with the one closest to Brookside listed first.
- Cocalico
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Cocalico is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cocalico
- Brickerville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Hopeland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Hopeland is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopeland
- Mount Hope
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Mount Hope is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
- Poplar Grove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Poplar Grove is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Grove
- Blainsport
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Blainsport is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blainsport
- Clay
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Clay is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay
- Elm
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Elm is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm
- Elstonville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Elstonville is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elstonville
- Mastersonville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Mastersonville is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mastersonville
- Brunnerville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Denver
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Stevens
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Lebanon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brookside, with the one closest to Brookside listed first.
- Fredericksburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Greble
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Greble is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greble
- Gold Mine
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Gold Mine is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Mine
- Murray
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Murray is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murray
- Inwood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Inwood is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inwood
- Lickdale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Lickdale is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickdale
- Mount Zion
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Mount Zion is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Green Point
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Green Point is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Point
- Jonestown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bunker Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bunker Hill is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunker Hill
- Myerstown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Avon Heights
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Avon Heights is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon Heights
- Avon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Avon is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
- Lehigh County
- Jacksonville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Jacksonville is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
- Luzerne County
- Newtown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Newtown is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
- Northumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brookside, with the one closest to Brookside listed first.
- Locust Gap
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Locust Gap is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Gap
- Alaska
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Alaska is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alaska
- Dooleyville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Dooleyville is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dooleyville
- Gowen City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Gowen City is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowen City
- Leck Kill
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Leck Kill is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leck Kill
- Mount Carmel
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Bear Valley
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Bear Valley is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Valley
- Marshallton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Marshallton is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshallton
- Shamokin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Natalie
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Natalie is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natalie
- Edgewood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Edgewood is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewood
- Bear Gap
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Bear Gap is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Gap
- Kulpmont
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Snyder County
- The following are listed by their distance from Brookside, with the one closest to Brookside listed first.
- Port Trevorton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dundore
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dundore is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundore
- Chapman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Chapman is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapman
- McKees Half Falls
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- McKees Half Falls is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKees Half Falls
- Hoffer
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Hoffer is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoffer
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Brookside, see our County-by-County Page for Brookside.
Cemeteries Near Brookside ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Brookside.
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 Brookside - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Brookside covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Brookside, with the one closest to Brookside listed first.
- Gunkles Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Hollernan Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Manbeck Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Hamlin Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Merkey Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Bethel Mennonite Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Salem Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Salem Reformed Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bethel Moravian Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Union-Salem Evangelical Congregational Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Meyer Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Fairview Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (232 more) ...
- Donaldson Community Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Sattazahn Lutheran Church Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Hill Chapel Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
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 Brookside in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Brookside.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Brookside, with the one closest to Brookside listed first.
- Stanhope
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Stanhope is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanhope
- Pine Grove
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Exmoor
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Exmoor is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exmoor
- Beuchler
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Beuchler is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beuchler
- Irving
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Irving is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
- Ravine
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Ravine is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravine
- Meckville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Meckville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meckville
- Lorberry Junction
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Lorberry Junction is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorberry Junction
- De Turksville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- De Turksville is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Turksville
- Suedberg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Suedberg is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suedberg
- Hamlin
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Hamlin is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlin
- Rausch Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Rausch Creek is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rausch Creek
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Tremont
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Tremont is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tremont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,656 people
- Fredericksburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- East Franklin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- East Franklin is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Franklin
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Brookside. See our List of 1890's Communities around Brookside.
Newspapers Published in Brookside ...
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 58 newspapers that have been published in the area around Brookside.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Brookside, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Brookside.
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 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 Brookside:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Schuylkill County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Berks County
- Columbia County
- Dauphin County
- Lancaster County
- Lebanon County
- Lehigh County
- Luzerne 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 Brookside, 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- Brookside) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |