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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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Centerville is located in Westmoreland 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 Westmoreland County: Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler, Cambria, Fayette, Indiana & Somerset.

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:

  • Westmoreland County     (The home county of Centerville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
    • Arona
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Arona is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arona
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 343 people
    • Youngwood
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Hunker
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Hunker is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunker
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hunker <1>
    • New Stanton
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Madison
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Yukon
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Adamsburg
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Adamsburg is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 161 people
    • Wyano
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Wyano is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyano
    • Herminie
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Grapeville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Grapeville is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grapeville
    • Jeannette
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Penn
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Penn is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 461 people
    • Radebaugh
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Radebaugh is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radebaugh
  • Allegheny County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
    • Buena Vista
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Buena Vista is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
    • Boston
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Versailles
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Versailles is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Versailles
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,452 people
    • White Oak
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Lincoln
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Lincoln is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,013 people
    • Liberty
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Liberty is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,438 people
    • Wall
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Wall is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wall
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 553 people
    • East McKeesport
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • McKeesport
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • North Versailles
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Pitcairn
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Clairton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Elizabeth
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Armstrong County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
    • Edmon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Edmon is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmon
    • Apollo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Apollo is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apollo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,507 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Apollo <1>
    • North Apollo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Orchard Hills
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Orchard Hills is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
    • Leechburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Spring Church
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Olivet
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Olivet is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
    • Freeport
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Aladdin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Aladdin is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aladdin
    • Cochrans Mills
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Cochrans Mills is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrans Mills
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
    • Laurelville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Laurelville is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelville
    • Banning
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Banning is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banning
    • Everson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Everson is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
    • Fuller
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Fuller is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
    • Whitsett
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Whitsett is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitsett
    • Bear Rocks
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Bear Rocks is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Rocks
    • Lynn
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Lynn is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
    • Perryopolis
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Dawson
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Dickerson Run
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Dickerson Run is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickerson Run
    • Arnold City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Arnold City is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold City
    • Fairhope
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Fairhope is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhope
    • Lynnwood
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Lynnwood is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynnwood
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
    • Clarksville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Rices Landing
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Stringtown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Stringtown is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
    • Chartiers
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Chartiers is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartiers
    • Cumberland Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Cumberland Village is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
    • Nemacolin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Nemacolin is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nemacolin
    • Carmichaels
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Fairdale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Fairdale is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
  • Indiana County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
    • White
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • White is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
    • Bow
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Bow is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow
    • Blairsville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Clarksburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Saltsburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jacksonville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jacksonville is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
    • Black Lick
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Black Lick is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Lick
    • Josephine
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Josephine is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Josephine
    • Palmertown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Robinson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Robinson is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
    • West Lebanon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • West Lebanon is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lebanon
    • Aultman
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Aultman is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aultman
    • Coral
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Somerset County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
    • Laurel Mountain Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Bakersville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Bakersville is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
    • Roytown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Roytown is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roytown
    • Lavansville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Lavansville is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavansville
    • New Lexington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • New Lexington is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lexington
    • Jennerstown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Sipesville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Sipesville is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipesville
    • Draketown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Draketown is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draketown
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Centerville, with the one closest to Centerville listed first.
    • Donora
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Donora is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donora
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,546 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Donora <1>
    • Black Diamond
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Black Diamond is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Diamond
    • Charleroi
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • North Charleroi
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • North Charleroi is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Charleroi
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,258 people
    • Twilight
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Twilight is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilight
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
    • Monongahela
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Riverview
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Riverview is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
    • Allenport
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Dunlevy
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Roscoe
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Roscoe is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roscoe
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 791 people
    • Speers
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Speers is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speers
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,061 people
    • Ellsworth
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Ellsworth is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellsworth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
    • New Eagle
      (16 miles [25.7 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.

  • Errett Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Milliron Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Youngwood Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Temple Emanuel Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Madison Union Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Yukon Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Stone Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Harrolds Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Milbell Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Feightner Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Westmoreland County Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Sacred Heart Cemetery (New)
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (424 more) ...
    • Old Mars Hill Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Wineland Grove Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Markle Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)

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.

  • Hunker
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Hunker is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunker
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hunker <1>
  • New Stanton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Foxtown
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Foxtown is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foxtown
  • Youngwood
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Madison
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Waltz Mill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Waltz Mill is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waltz Mill
  • Adamsburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Adamsburg is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsburg
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 161 people
  • Weavers Old Stand
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Weavers Old Stand is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weavers Old Stand
  • Mendon
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Mendon is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mendon
  • Ruffs Dale
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Tarrs
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Radebaugh
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Radebaugh is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radebaugh
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Grapeville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Grapeville is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grapeville
    • Jeannette
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Rillton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)

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 63 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 8 miles [12.9 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 first visit 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 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>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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions 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'.