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 Centerville (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 Centerville. 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 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.
Centerville is located in Lancaster 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 Lancaster County: Cecil (MD), Harford (MD), Berks, Chester, Dauphin, Lebanon & York.
Below are the counties that are near Centerville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Centerville:
- Lancaster County (The home county of Centerville)
- The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
- Rohrerstown
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Landisville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Wheatland
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Wheatland is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 577 people
- Mountville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Silver Spring
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Silver Spring is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Spring
- East Petersburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Fruitville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Fruitville is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitville
- Windom
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Windom is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
- Ironville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Ironville is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironville
- Lancaster Junction
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Lancaster Junction is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lancaster Junction
- Kenwick Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Kenwick Village is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenwick Village
- Central Manor
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Central Manor is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Manor
- Berks County
- The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
- Adamstown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Adamstown is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamstown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,905 people
- Adamstown has also been known as:
- Adamschteddel
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Adamstown <1>
- Womelsdorf
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Alleghenyville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Alleghenyville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alleghenyville
- Robesonia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Wernersville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Aetna
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Phoebe Berks Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Tallowyck
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Tallowyck is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallowyck
- Angelica
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Angelica is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angelica
- Brownsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Brownsville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Mohnton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- North Heidelberg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- North Heidelberg is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Heidelberg
- Chester County
- The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
- Atglen
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Cambridge
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Cambridge is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
- Compass
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Compass is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compass
- Lenover
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Lenover is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenover
- Honey Brook
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Parkesburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Mount Vernon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Vernon is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Sadsburyville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Suplee
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Suplee is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suplee
- Tweedale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Tweedale is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tweedale
- Birdell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Birdell is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birdell
- Dampman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Dampman is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dampman
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
- New Cumberland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Lisburn
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Lisburn is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisburn
- Lemoyne
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lower Allen
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lower Allen is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Allen
- Camp Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wormleysburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dauphin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
- Bachmanville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bachmanville is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bachmanville
- Royalton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Royalton is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royalton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,019 people
- Hershey
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Middletown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Clifton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Clifton is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Hummelstown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Union Deposit
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Union Deposit is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Deposit
- Highspire
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Rutherford
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Rutherford is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutherford
- Grantville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lawnton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lawnton is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawnton
- Shellsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Shellsville is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shellsville
- Lebanon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
- Mount Gretna Heights
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Mount Gretna Heights is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gretna Heights
- Mount Gretna
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Timber Hills
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Timber Hills is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Hills
- Colebrook
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Colebrook is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colebrook
- Lawn
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Burd Coleman Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Burd Coleman Village is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burd Coleman Village
- Miners Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Miners Village is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miners Village
- Cornwall
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Johnstown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Johnstown is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
- Quentin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Fontana
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Fontana is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontana
- Schaefferstown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- York County
- The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
- East Prospect
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- East Prospect is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Prospect
- Population from the 2020 Census: 912 people
- Wrightsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Craley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Craley is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craley
- New Bridgeville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- New Bridgeville is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bridgeville
- Yorkana
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Yorkana is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkana
- Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
- Goram
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Goram is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goram
- Bittersville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bittersville is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bittersville
- Hallam
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Hallam is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallam
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,634 people
- Holtz
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Holtz is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holtz
- Windsor
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Stonybrook
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Stonybrook is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonybrook
- Airville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Baltimore County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
- Gorsuch Mills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Gorsuch Mills is located in Baltimore County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorsuch Mills
- Maryland Line
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Maryland Line is located in Baltimore County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maryland Line
- Oakland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Oakland is located in Baltimore County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Trump
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Trump is located in Baltimore County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trump
- Shane
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Shane is located in Baltimore County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shane
- Freeland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Stablersville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Stablersville is located in Baltimore County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stablersville
- Cecil County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
- Bald Friar ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Bald Friar is located in Cecil County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Friar
- Rock Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Rock Springs is located in Cecil County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Springs
- Oakwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Oakwood is located in Cecil County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
- Conowingo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mason Dixon Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mason Dixon Village is located in Cecil County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason Dixon Village
- Rising Sun
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Rowlandsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Rowlandsville is located in Cecil County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowlandsville
- Sylmar
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Sylmar is located in Cecil County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylmar
- Harford County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
- Cambria
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Cambria is located in Harford County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambria
- Whiteford
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Pylesville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Street
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Dublin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Dublin is located in Harford County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dublin
- Federal Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Federal Hill is located in Harford County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Federal Hill
- Poole
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Poole is located in Harford County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poole
- Scarboro
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Scarboro is located in Harford County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scarboro
- Chestnut Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Chestnut Hill is located in Harford County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Hill
- Conowingo Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Conowingo Village is located in Harford County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conowingo Village
- Darlington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Shawsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Shawsville is located in Harford County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawsville
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Centerville, see our County-by-County Page for Centerville.
Cemeteries Near Centerville ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Centerville.
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 Centerville - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Centerville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
- Centerville Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Mountville Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Silver Spring Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Concordia Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Habecker Mennonite Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Millersville Mennonite Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ironville UMC Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironville UMC Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Ironville UMC Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Ironville.
- The Ironville UMC Cemetery has also been known as:
- Ironville Methodist Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2195100 <2>
- Mann - Grosh - Lutz Graveyard
- The Mann - Grosh - Lutz Graveyard is located on private property - be sure to secure permission before visiting.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mann - Grosh - Lutz Graveyard
- The Mann - Grosh - Lutz Graveyard has also been known as:
- John Mann Cemetery
- Rohrer Farm Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2328116 <2>
- Kauffman Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Degel Israel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- St. Josephs New Catholic Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Shreiner - Concord Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Continue List (313 more) ...
- St. James Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Lancaster Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
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 Centerville in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Centerville.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
- Rohrerstown
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Bamford
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Bamford is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamford
- Mountville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Landisville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Shreiners
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Shreiners is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shreiners
- Silver Spring
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Silver Spring is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Spring
- Hempfield
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Hempfield is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hempfield
- Windom
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Windom is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
- East Petersburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Salunga
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Salunga is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salunga
- Mechanicsville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Mechanicsville is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsville
- Millersville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Lancaster
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Lancaster Junction
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Lancaster Junction is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lancaster Junction
- Farmdale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Farmdale is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmdale
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Centerville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Centerville.
Newspapers Published in Centerville ...
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 87 newspapers that have been published in the area around Centerville.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Centerville, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Centerville.
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 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 Centerville:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Lancaster County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Berks County
- Chester County
- Cumberland County
- Dauphin County
- Lebanon County
- York County
- Baltimore County
- Cecil County
- Harford 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 Centerville, 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- Centerville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |