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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 Burkhelder (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 Burkhelder. 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.

Burkhelder is located in Somerset 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 Somerset County: Allegany (MD), Garrett (MD), Bedford, Cambria, Fayette & Westmoreland.

Below are the counties that are near Burkhelder. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Burkhelder:

  • Somerset County     (The home county of Burkhelder)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Burkhelder, with the one closest to Burkhelder listed first.
    • Althouse
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Althouse is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Althouse
    • Beachdale
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Beachdale is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beachdale
    • Garrett
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Pine Hill
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Pine Hill is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Hill
    • Hays Mill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Hays Mill is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hays Mill
    • Meyersdale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • West Meyersdale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • West Meyersdale is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Meyersdale
    • Glade City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Glade City is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade City
    • Berlin
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Summit Mills
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Summit Mills is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Mills
    • Milford
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Milford is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford
    • Rockwood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Bedford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Burkhelder, with the one closest to Burkhelder listed first.
    • Hyndman
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Kegg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Kegg is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kegg
    • Cooks Mills
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Cooks Mills is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Mills
    • Stringtown
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Stringtown is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
    • Schellsburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Beans Cove
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Beans Cove is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Cove
    • Manns Choice
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • New Paris
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Rainsburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Rainsburg is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
    • Charlesville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Charlesville is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlesville
    • Wolfsburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Wolfsburg is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfsburg
    • Bedford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Cambria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Burkhelder, with the one closest to Burkhelder listed first.
    • Ingleside
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Ingleside is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleside
    • Scalp Level
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Scalp Level is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scalp Level
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 691 people
    • Ferndale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Belmont
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Belmont is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
    • Elim
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Elim is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elim
    • Geistown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Geistown is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geistown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,242 people
    • Lorain
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Lorain is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorain
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 680 people
    • Dale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Dale is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,110 people
    • Southmont
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Southmont is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southmont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,048 people
    • Westmont
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Westmont is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westmont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,625 people
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Burkhelder, with the one closest to Burkhelder listed first.
    • Seven Springs
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Champion
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Indian Head
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Indian Head is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Head
    • Markleysburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Ohiopyle
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • White
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • White is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
    • Bear Rocks
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Bear Rocks is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Rocks
    • Farmington
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Laurelville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Laurelville is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelville
    • Mount Washington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Mount Washington is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Washington
    • South Connellsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Connellsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Westmoreland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Burkhelder, with the one closest to Burkhelder listed first.
    • Laughlintown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Laurel Mountain
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Laurel Mountain is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Mountain
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 153 people
      • Laurel Mountain has also been known as:
      • Laurel Mountain Park
    • Donegal
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Rector
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Stahlstown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Oak Grove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Oak Grove is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Ligonier
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Darlington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Darlington is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darlington
    • Kecksburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Kecksburg is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kecksburg
    • Mount Joy
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Mount Joy is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Joy
  • Allegany County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Burkhelder, with the one closest to Burkhelder listed first.
    • Barrelville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Barrelville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrelville
    • Mount Savage
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Zihlman
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Zihlman is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zihlman
    • Frostburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Midlothian
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Midlothian is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midlothian
    • Eckhart Mines
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Eckhart Mines is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eckhart Mines
    • Ellerslie
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Ellerslie is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellerslie
    • Borden Shaft
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Borden Shaft is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Shaft
    • Clarysville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Clarysville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarysville
    • Corriganville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Corriganville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corriganville
    • Mount Savage Junction
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Mount Savage Junction is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Savage Junction
    • Klondike
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Klondike is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klondike
  • Garrett County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Burkhelder, with the one closest to Burkhelder listed first.
    • Grantsville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Avilton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Avilton is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avilton
    • Bittinger
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Accident
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Friendsville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Bloomington
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Bloomington is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
    • McHenry
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Swanton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Mineral County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Burkhelder, with the one closest to Burkhelder listed first.
    • Carpendale
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Carpendale is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpendale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 900 people
    • Ridgeley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Wiley Ford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Short Gap
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Short Gap is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Gap
    • Piedmont
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Windom ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Windom is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
    • Fort Ashby
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Keyser
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Keyser is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keyser
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,863 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Keyser <1>
  • Preston County (WV)
    • Hazelton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Burkhelder, see our County-by-County Page for Burkhelder.

Cemeteries Near Burkhelder ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Burkhelder.

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 Burkhelder - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Burkhelder covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Burkhelder, with the one closest to Burkhelder listed first.

  • Garrett Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Highland Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Mt. Zion Reformed Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Zion Reformed Cemetery
    • The Mt. Zion Reformed Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Hays Reformed Cemetery
    • Mt. Zion - Hays Cemetery
    • Mt. Zion United Church of Christ (UCC) Cemetery
  • Reformed Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Union Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Lebanon Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Pike Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Union Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Husband Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (201 more) ...
    • Pugh Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Listie Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Mispah Lutheran Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mispah Lutheran Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Mispah Lutheran Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the west of Shanksville.
      • The Mispah Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Mispah Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2188400 <2>

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 Burkhelder in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Burkhelder.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Burkhelder, with the one closest to Burkhelder listed first.

  • Shober
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Shober is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shober
  • Garrett
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Beachdale
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Beachdale is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beachdale
  • Pine Hill
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Pine Hill is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Hill
  • Mineral Spring
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Mineral Spring is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Spring
  • Salisbury Junction
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Salisbury Junction is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury Junction
  • Hays Mill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hays Mill is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hays Mill
  • Pine Hill Station
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Pine Hill Station is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Hill Station
  • West Meyersdale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • West Meyersdale is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Meyersdale
  • Meyersdale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Summit Mills
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Summit Mills is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Mills
  • Shaw Mines
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Shaw Mines is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw Mines
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Berlin
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Shamrock
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Shamrock is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shamrock
    • Sand Patch
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Sand Patch is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Patch

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Burkhelder. See our List of 1890's Communities around Burkhelder.

Newspapers Published in Burkhelder ...

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 28 newspapers that have been published in the area around Burkhelder.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Burkhelder, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Burkhelder.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Burkhelder:

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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Burkhelder) 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 Burkhelder, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.