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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 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 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.

Centerville is located in Washington 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 Washington County: Allegheny, Beaver, Fayette, Greene, Westmoreland, Brooke (WV), Hancock (WV), Marshall (WV) & Ohio (WV).

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:

  • Washington County     (The home county of Centerville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
    • Deemston
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Deemston is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deemston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 696 people
    • Fredericktown - Millsboro
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Daisytown
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Millsboro
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Beallsville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Marianna
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Blainsburg
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Blainsburg is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blainsburg
    • West Brownsville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • West Brownsville is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brownsville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
    • Coal Center
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Lover
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Lover is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lover
    • Scenery Hill
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Bissell
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Bissell is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bissell
  • Allegheny County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
    • Sunny Side
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Sunny Side is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Side
    • Cochrans Mill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Cochrans Mill is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrans Mill
    • Elizabeth
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Library
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • West Elizabeth
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Clairton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Jefferson Hills
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • 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
    • Bethel Park
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Mendelssohn
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Mendelssohn is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mendelssohn
    • Buena Vista
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Buena Vista is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
    • Lincoln
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Lincoln is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,013 people
    • Coal Valley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Coal Valley is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Valley
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
    • La Belle
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • La Belle is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Belle
    • East Millsboro
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • East Millsboro is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Millsboro
    • Luzerne
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Luzerne is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luzerne
    • Alicia
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Alicia is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alicia
    • Brownsville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Hiller
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Chamouni
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Chamouni is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamouni
    • Newell
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Newell is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 492 people
    • Arensburg
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Arensburg is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arensburg
    • Heistersburg
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Heistersburg is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heistersburg
    • Isabella
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Isabella is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isabella
    • Dunlap Creek Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Dunlap Creek Village is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlap Creek Village
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
    • Chartiers
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Chartiers is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartiers
    • Clarksville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Rices Landing
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jefferson
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Jefferson is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
    • Carmichaels
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Cumberland Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Cumberland Village is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
    • Stringtown
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Stringtown is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
    • Lippincott
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Lippincott is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lippincott
    • Fairdale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Fairdale is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
    • Khedive
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Khedive is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Khedive
    • Nemacolin
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Nemacolin is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nemacolin
    • Ceylon
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Ceylon is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceylon
  • Westmoreland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
    • Gibsonton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Gibsonton is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonton
    • Monessen
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • North Belle Vernon
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • 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
    • Webster
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Webster is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
    • Smithton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Sutersville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • West Newton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Blackburn ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Blackburn is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn
    • Wyano
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Wyano is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyano
    • Shaner
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Shaner is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaner
    • Yukon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Herminie
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Marshall County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
    • Dallas
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Dallas is located in Marshall County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
    • Calis
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Calis is located in Marshall County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calis
    • Rocklick
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Rocklick is located in Marshall County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocklick
  • Monongalia County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
    • Bowlby
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Bowlby is located in Monongalia County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowlby
    • Maidsville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Maidsville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maidsville
    • Blacksville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Blacksville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blacksville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
    • Baker Ridge
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Baker Ridge is located in Monongalia County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker Ridge
    • Canyon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Canyon is located in Monongalia County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon
    • Cassville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Cassville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassville
    • Cheat Lake
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Cheat Lake is located in Monongalia County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheat Lake
    • Granville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Granville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,156 people
    • Osage
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Osage is located in Monongalia County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osage
    • Star City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Star City is located in Monongalia County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,984 people
    • Westover
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Westover is located in Monongalia County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westover
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,220 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Westover <1>
    • Wana
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Ohio County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
    • Potomac
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Potomac is located in Ohio County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potomac
    • Point Mills
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Point Mills is located in Ohio County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Mills
    • Valley Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

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.

  • Westland Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Buckingham Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Zion Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Beallsville Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Wise Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Grimes Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Clements Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Horn Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horn Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Horn Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<3> to the south of Marianna.
    • The Horn Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Horn Burial Ground
    • Horns Lutheran Cemetery
    • Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #45150 <2>
  • St. Nicholas Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Woodlawn Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Hiller.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2153919 <2>
  • St. Mary Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (488 more) ...
    • St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Green Lane Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Highland Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 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.<4>

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.

  • Deemston
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Deemston is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deemston
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 696 people
  • Fredericktown
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Millsboro
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Beallsville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Clarksville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Brownsville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • West Brownsville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • West Brownsville is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brownsville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
  • Coal Center
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Lover
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Lover is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lover
  • Scenery Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Bissell
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Bissell is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bissell
  • Rices Landing
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Heistersburg
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Heistersburg is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heistersburg
    • Chamouni
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Chamouni is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamouni
    • California
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)

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 52 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 9 miles [14.5 km]<3>. 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 first visit 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 Centerville:

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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Centerville) 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 Centerville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.