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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 Canal Center (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 Canal Center. 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.

Name Variations for Canal Center ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Canal Center: Canal Ctr. (or less commonly used: Canal Cen., Canal Cent. or Canal Cntr.)

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 doctors and hospitals 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.

Canal Center is located in Venango 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 Venango County: Butler, Clarion, Crawford, Forest, Mercer & Warren.

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

  • Venango County     (The home county of Canal Center)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Canal Center, with the one closest to Canal Center listed first.
    • Utica
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Utica is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utica
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
    • Cooperstown
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Cooperstown is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooperstown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 417 people
    • Sugarcreek
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Sugarcreek is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugarcreek
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,868 people
    • Wilson Mills
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Wilson Mills is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson Mills
    • Nicklin
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Nicklin is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicklin
    • Polk
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Polk is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polk
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 768 people
    • Franklin
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Uniontown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Uniontown is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
    • McClintock
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • McClintock is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClintock
    • Oil City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Rouseville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Henderson Station
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Henderson Station is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henderson Station
    • Coal City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Coal City is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
  • Armstrong County
    • Parker
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Butler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Canal Center, with the one closest to Canal Center listed first.
    • Cherry Valley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Cherry Valley is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Valley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 62 people
    • Murrinsville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Murrinsville is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murrinsville
    • Harrisville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Eau Claire
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Ferris
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Ferris is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferris
    • Forestville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Forestville is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestville
    • Bovard
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Bovard is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bovard
    • Branchton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Branchton is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchton
    • Slippery Rock
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Bruin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Bruin is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 489 people
  • Clarion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Canal Center, with the one closest to Canal Center listed first.
    • Lamartine
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Lamartine is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamartine
    • Venus
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Venus is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venus
    • Pine City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Pine City is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine City
    • Saint Petersburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Turkey City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Turkey City is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey City
    • Fryburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Alum Rock
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Alum Rock is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alum Rock
    • Beaver City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Beaver City is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver City
    • Foxburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Iron City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Iron City is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
    • Knox
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Knox is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knox
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,067 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Knox <1>
    • Monroe
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Monroe is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
    • Elk City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Elk City is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk City
  • Crawford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Canal Center, with the one closest to Canal Center listed first.
    • Deckard
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Deckard is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deckard
    • Cochranton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Black Ash
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Black Ash is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Ash
    • Fauncetown
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Fauncetown is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fauncetown
    • Frenchtown
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Frenchtown is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchtown
    • Guys Mills
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Wayland
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Wayland is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland
    • Townville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Townville is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Townville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 306 people
    • Blooming Valley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Blooming Valley is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blooming Valley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 311 people
    • Gresham
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Gresham is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gresham
    • Kerrtown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Kerrtown is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerrtown
    • Hydetown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Hydetown is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hydetown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 504 people
    • Geneva
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Geneva is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
  • Erie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Canal Center, with the one closest to Canal Center listed first.
    • Mill Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Mill Village is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 383 people
    • Edinboro
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Union City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Forest County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Canal Center, with the one closest to Canal Center listed first.
    • Tionesta
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Jamison
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Jamison is located in Forest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamison
    • Fagundus
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Fagundus is located in Forest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fagundus
    • Trunkeyville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Trunkeyville is located in Forest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trunkeyville
  • Lawrence County
    • Volant
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Mercer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Canal Center, with the one closest to Canal Center listed first.
    • North Sandy
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • North Sandy is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Sandy
    • Milledgeville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Milledgeville is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milledgeville
    • New Lebanon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • New Lebanon is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lebanon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
    • New Vernon
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • New Vernon is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Vernon
    • Sandy Lake
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Stoneboro
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Kilgore
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Kilgore is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilgore
    • Clarks Mills
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Clarks Mills is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarks Mills
    • Perrine Corners
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Perrine Corners is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perrine Corners
    • Sheakleyville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Sheakleyville is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheakleyville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
    • Hadley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Jackson Center
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Coolspring
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Coolspring is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coolspring
  • Warren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Canal Center, with the one closest to Canal Center listed first.
    • Enterprise
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Enterprise is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
    • Selkirk
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Selkirk is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selkirk
    • East Branch
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • East Branch is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Branch
    • Sanford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Sanford is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanford
  • York County
    • Adamsville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Adamsville is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
  • Ashtabula County (OH)
    • Simons
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Simons is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simons

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

Cemeteries Near Canal Center ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Canal Center.

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 Canal Center - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Oakwood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Forest Chapel Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Peters Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Millcreek Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Millcreek Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Franklin Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Franklin Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Franklin.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #44879 <2>
  • St. Patrick Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Patricks Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Sugar Lake Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Cochranton Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • New Lebanon Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Old Sandy Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (180 more) ...

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

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

  • Utica
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Utica is located in Venango County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utica
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
  • Cooperstown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Cooperstown is located in Venango County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooperstown
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 417 people
  • Sugarcreek
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Sugarcreek is located in Venango County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugarcreek
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,868 people
  • Mason
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Mason is located in Venango County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
  • Deckard
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Deckard is located in Crawford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deckard
  • Carlton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Carlton is located in Mercer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlton
  • Niles
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Niles is located in Venango County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Niles
  • North Sandy
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • North Sandy is located in Mercer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Sandy
  • Bradleytown
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Bradleytown is located in Venango County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradleytown
  • Milledgeville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Milledgeville is located in Mercer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milledgeville
  • Polk
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Polk is located in Venango County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polk
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 768 people
  • Franklin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Sunville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Sunville is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunville
    • New Lebanon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • New Lebanon is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lebanon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
    • Dempseytown
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Dempseytown is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dempseytown

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

Newspapers Published in Canal Center ...

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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around Canal Center.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Canal Center, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Canal Center.

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 Canal Center:

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 Canal Center, 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 from Point A (ie- Canal Center) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.