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 Buena Vista (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 Buena Vista. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Buena Vista 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 Buena Vista. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Buena Vista:
- Fayette County (The home county of Buena Vista)
- The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
- Flatwoods
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Flatwoods is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatwoods
- Vanderbilt
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Dickerson Run
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Dickerson Run is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickerson Run
- Bitner
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Bitner is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bitner
- Leisenring
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Leisenring is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisenring
- Dawson
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Laurel Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Laurel Hill is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hill
- Waltersburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Waltersburg is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waltersburg
- Rogerstown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Rogerstown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogerstown
- Tippecanoe
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Tippecanoe is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tippecanoe
- Fuller
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Fuller is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Dunbar
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Allegheny County
- The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
- Sunny Side
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sunny Side is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Side
- Buena Vista
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Buena Vista is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Elizabeth
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- West Elizabeth
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Lincoln
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Lincoln is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,013 people
- Clairton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Boston
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Versailles
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Versailles is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Versailles
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,452 people
- Mendelssohn
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mendelssohn is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mendelssohn
- Coal Valley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Coal Valley is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Valley
- Cochrans Mill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Cochrans Mill is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrans Mill
- Jefferson Hills
(22 miles [35.4 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
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
- Nemacolin
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Nemacolin is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nemacolin
- Stringtown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Stringtown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Cumberland Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cumberland Village is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
- Rices Landing
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Carmichaels
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fairdale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fairdale is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
- Ceylon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ceylon is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceylon
- Clarksville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Greensboro
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Chartiers
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Chartiers is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartiers
- Khedive
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Khedive is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Khedive
- Jefferson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Jefferson is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
- Draketown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Draketown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draketown
- Confluence
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- New Lexington
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- New Lexington is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lexington
- Bakersville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Bakersville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
- Ursina
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ursina is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ursina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
- New Centerville
(27 miles [43.5 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
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Listonburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Listonburg is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Listonburg
- Markleton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Casselman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Casselman is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casselman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- Lavansville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Lavansville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavansville
- Rockwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
- Allenport
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Speers
(9 miles [14.5 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
- Blainsburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Blainsburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blainsburg
- West Brownsville
(9 miles [14.5 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
- Elco
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Elco is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elco
- Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
- Roscoe
(10 miles [16.1 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
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- California
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Coal Center
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Dunlevy
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Long Branch
(11 miles [17.7 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
- Daisytown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
- Scottdale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Smithton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Hawkeye
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hawkeye is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkeye
- Alverton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Alverton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alverton
- Iron Bridge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Iron Bridge is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Bridge
- West Overton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- West Overton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Overton
- Gibsonton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Gibsonton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonton
- North Belle Vernon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- 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
- Wyano
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Wyano is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyano
- Mount Pleasant
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Monessen
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hunker
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Garrett County (MD)
- Friendsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Monongalia County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
- Canyon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Canyon is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon
- Cheat Lake
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Cheat Lake is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheat Lake
- Baker Ridge
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Baker Ridge is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker Ridge
- Bowlby
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bowlby is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowlby
- Maidsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Maidsville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maidsville
- Star City
(28 miles [45.1 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
- Brookhaven
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Brookhaven is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookhaven
- Granville
(29 miles [46.7 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
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Osage
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Osage is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osage
- Westover
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cassville
(30 miles [48.3 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 Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
- Clifton Mills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Clifton Mills is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton Mills
- Brandonville
(24 miles [38.6 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
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Hazelton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Little Sandy
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Little Sandy is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Sandy
- Rockville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Rockville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
- Morgans Glade
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Morgans Glade is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgans Glade
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Buena Vista, see our County-by-County Page for Buena Vista.
Cemeteries Near Buena Vista ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Buena Vista.
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 Buena Vista - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Buena Vista covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
- Bowman - Flatwoods Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Dickerson Run - Union Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Laurel Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Mt. Washington Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- St. John the Baptist RC Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. John the Baptist RC Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. John the Baptist RC Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Perryopolis.
- The St. John the Baptist RC Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Johns Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #46044 <2>
- Sacred Heart RC Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sacred Heart RC Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Sacred Heart RC Cemetery is located in Dickerson Run.
- The Sacred Heart RC Cemetery has also been known as:
- Sacred Heart Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2439278 <2>
- St. Stephens Byzantine Catholic Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Cochran Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bethel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant View Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Franklin Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- St. John's Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (385 more) ...
- Grace Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sylvan Heights Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvan Heights Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Sylvan Heights Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<3> to the northeast of Uniontown.
- The Sylvan Heights Cemetery has also been known as:
- Sylvan Heights Memorial Gardens
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #46449 <2>
- Lincoln Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
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 Buena Vista in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Buena Vista.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Buena Vista, with the one closest to Buena Vista listed first.
- Flatwoods
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Flatwoods is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatwoods
- Vanderbilt
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Dickerson Run
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Dickerson Run is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickerson Run
- Curfew
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Curfew is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curfew
- Rothruck
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Rothruck is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rothruck
- Waltersburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Waltersburg is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waltersburg
- Laurel Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Laurel Hill is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hill
- Monarch
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Monarch is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monarch
- Leisenring
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Leisenring is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisenring
- Dawson
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Smock
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Upper Middletown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Upper Middletown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Middletown
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Vances Mill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Vances Mill is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vances Mill
- West Leisenring
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- West Leisenring is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leisenring
- Trotter
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Trotter is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trotter
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Buena Vista. See our List of 1890's Communities around Buena Vista.
Newspapers Published in Buena Vista ...
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 60 newspapers that have been published in the area around Buena Vista.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Buena Vista, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Buena Vista.
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 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 Buena Vista:
- 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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Buena Vista) 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 Buena Vista, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |