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 Browntown (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 Browntown. 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 northwest 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 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 west 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.
Browntown is located in Luzerne 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 Luzerne County: Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Monroe, Schuylkill, Sullivan & Wyoming.
Below are the counties that are near Browntown. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Browntown:
- Luzerne County (The home county of Browntown)
- The following are listed by their distance from Browntown, with the one closest to Browntown listed first.
- Yatesville
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Yatesville is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yatesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 613 people
- Pittston
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Hughestown
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Hughestown is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughestown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,356 people
- Exeter
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- West Pittston
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Laflin
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Laflin is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laflin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,435 people
- Dupont
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hilldale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hilldale is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilldale
- Port Blanchard
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Port Blanchard is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Blanchard
- Wyoming
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Avoca
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Duryea
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Carbon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Browntown, with the one closest to Browntown listed first.
- East Side
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- East Side is located in Carbon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Side
- Population from the 2020 Census: 301 people
- Leslie Run
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Leslie Run is located in Carbon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leslie Run
- Mud Run
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Mud Run is located in Carbon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mud Run
- Albrightsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Unionville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Unionville is located in Carbon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
- Meckesville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Meckesville is located in Carbon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meckesville
- Penn Haven Junction
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Penn Haven Junction is located in Carbon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penn Haven Junction
- Weatherly
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Coxes Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Coxes Village is located in Carbon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coxes Village
- Coxes Village has also been known as:
- Cross Village
- Beaver Meadows
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Hudsondale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Hudsondale is located in Carbon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudsondale
- Tresckow
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Tresckow is located in Carbon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tresckow
- Columbia County
- The following are listed by their distance from Browntown, with the one closest to Browntown listed first.
- Foundryville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Foundryville is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foundryville
- Berwick
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jonestown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jonestown is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonestown
- Jamison City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Jamison City is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamison City
- Lackawanna County
- The following are listed by their distance from Browntown, with the one closest to Browntown listed first.
- Lawrenceville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lawrenceville is located in Lackawanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrenceville
- Belian Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Belian Village is located in Lackawanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belian Village
- Old Forge
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Moosic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Minooka
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Minooka is located in Lackawanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minooka
- Taylor
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Milwaukee
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Milwaukee is located in Lackawanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milwaukee
- Scranton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Spring Brook
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Spring Brook is located in Lackawanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Brook
- Green Ridge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Green Ridge is located in Lackawanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Ridge
- Dunmore
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Schultzville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Schultzville is located in Lackawanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schultzville
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Browntown, with the one closest to Browntown listed first.
- Locust Lakes Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Locust Lakes Village is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Lakes Village
- Mount Pocono
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Tobyhanna
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Pocono Pines
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Long Pond
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Pocono Summit
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Mountainhome
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- McMichael
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- McMichael is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McMichael
- Paradise Valley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Paradise Valley is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Valley
- Reeders
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pike County
- The following are listed by their distance from Browntown, with the one closest to Browntown listed first.
- South Sterling
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- La Anna
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- La Anna is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Anna
- Ledgedale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Ledgedale is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ledgedale
- Panther
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Panther is located in Pike County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panther
- Schuylkill County
- The following are listed by their distance from Browntown, with the one closest to Browntown listed first.
- Kelayres
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Kelayres is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelayres
- McAdoo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Susquehanna County
- The following are listed by their distance from Browntown, with the one closest to Browntown listed first.
- Lenoxville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Lenoxville is located in Susquehanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenoxville
- Royal
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Royal is located in Susquehanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
- Hop Bottom
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Springville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Tyler
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Tyler is located in Susquehanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyler
- Forest City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Auburn Four Corners
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Auburn Four Corners is located in Susquehanna County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn Four Corners
- South Gibson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Wayne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Browntown, with the one closest to Browntown listed first.
- Hollisterville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Hollisterville is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollisterville
- Sterling
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Maplewood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Maplewood is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplewood
- Tresslarville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Tresslarville is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tresslarville
- South Canaan
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- South Canaan is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Canaan
- Lakeville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Waymart
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Keen
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Keen is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keen
- Uswick
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Uswick is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uswick
- Forest City Station
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Forest City Station is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City Station
- Prompton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Prompton is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prompton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 233 people
- Wyoming County
- The following are listed by their distance from Browntown, with the one closest to Browntown listed first.
- Mill City ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mill City is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill City
- Beaumont
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Beaumont is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaumont
- Vernon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Vernon is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
- Lake Winola
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Osterhout
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Osterhout is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osterhout
- South Eaton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- South Eaton is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Eaton
- Jenks
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Jenks is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenks
- Evans Falls
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Evans Falls is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans Falls
- Noxen
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Factoryville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Tunkhannock
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Dixon
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Dixon is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Browntown, see our County-by-County Page for Browntown.
Cemeteries Near Browntown ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Browntown.
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 Browntown - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Browntown covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Browntown, with the one closest to Browntown listed first.
- St. John the Evangelist Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Brick Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Jenkins-Harding Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- St. John the Baptist RC Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Cooper - Blanchard Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooper - Blanchard Cemetery
- The Cooper - Blanchard Cemetery has also been known as:
- Blanchard - Cooper Cemetery
- Plainsville Cemetery
- Sacred Heart Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Polish National Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- St. Johns the Baptist Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- St. Michaels Byzantine Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- St. Cecilias Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (250 more) ...
- St. John the Baptist Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Holy Resurrection Russian Orthodox Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Marcy Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
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 Browntown in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Browntown.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Browntown, with the one closest to Browntown listed first.
- Sebastopol
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Sebastopol is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sebastopol
- Yatesville
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Yatesville is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yatesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 613 people
- Inkerman
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Inkerman is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inkerman
- Laflin
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Laflin is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laflin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,435 people
- Pittston
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- West Pittston
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Exeter
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Port Griffith
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Port Griffith is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Griffith
- Port Blanchard
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Port Blanchard is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Blanchard
- Dupont
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Wyoming
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Plainsville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Plainsville is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainsville
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Hudson
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hudson is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
- Miners Mills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Miners Mills is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miners Mills
- Harding
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Harding is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harding
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Browntown. See our List of 1890's Communities around Browntown.
Newspapers Published in Browntown ...
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 105 newspapers that have been published in the area around Browntown.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Browntown, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Browntown.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Browntown:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Luzerne County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Carbon County
- Columbia County
- Lackawanna County
- Monroe County
- Pike County
- Schuylkill County
- Susquehanna County
- Wayne County
- Wyoming 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 Browntown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Browntown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |