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 Chestnut Ridge (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 Chestnut Ridge. 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 Chestnut Ridge ...
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 Chestnut Ridge: Chestnut Rdg. (or less commonly used: Chestnut Rdge. or Chestnut Ridg.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Chestnut Ridge. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Chestnut Ridge.
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 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.
Chestnut Ridge is located in Fayette 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 Fayette County: Garrett (MD), Greene, Somerset, Washington, Westmoreland, Monongalia (WV) & Preston (WV).
Below are the counties that are near Chestnut Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Chestnut Ridge:
- Fayette County (The home county of Chestnut Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Chestnut Ridge, with the one closest to Chestnut Ridge listed first.
- Waltersburg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Waltersburg is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waltersburg
- Rowes Run
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Rowes Run is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowes Run
- Tippecanoe
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Tippecanoe is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tippecanoe
- Grindstone
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Buffington
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Buffington is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffington
- Fairbank
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Fairbank is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairbank
- Dunlap Creek Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Dunlap Creek Village is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlap Creek Village
- Republic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Republic is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Republic
- Bitner
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Bitner is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bitner
- Laurel Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Laurel Hill is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hill
- New Salem
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Brownsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Allegheny County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chestnut Ridge, with the one closest to Chestnut Ridge listed first.
- Sunny Side
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Sunny Side is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Side
- Buena Vista
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Buena Vista is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Elizabeth
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- West Elizabeth
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Clairton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Boston
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Cochrans Mill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Cochrans Mill is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrans Mill
- Jefferson Hills
(22 miles [35.4 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
- Lincoln
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Lincoln is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,013 people
- Mendelssohn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Mendelssohn is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mendelssohn
- Coal Valley
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Coal Valley is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Valley
- Liberty
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Liberty is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,438 people
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chestnut Ridge, with the one closest to Chestnut Ridge listed first.
- Stringtown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Stringtown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Nemacolin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Nemacolin is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nemacolin
- Carmichaels
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cumberland Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cumberland Village is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
- Fairdale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Fairdale is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
- Rices Landing
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Ceylon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ceylon is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceylon
- Clarksville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Khedive
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Khedive is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Khedive
- Chartiers
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Chartiers is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartiers
- Jefferson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Jefferson is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
- Greensboro
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chestnut Ridge, with the one closest to Chestnut Ridge listed first.
- Draketown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Draketown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draketown
- Confluence
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Addison
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ursina
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ursina is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ursina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
- New Lexington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- New Lexington is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lexington
- Listonburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Listonburg is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Listonburg
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chestnut Ridge, with the one closest to Chestnut Ridge listed first.
- Blainsburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Blainsburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blainsburg
- West Brownsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- West Brownsville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brownsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
- California
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Coal Center
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Allenport
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Daisytown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Elco
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Elco is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elco
- Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
- Speers
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Speers is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speers
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,061 people
- Stockdale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Dunlevy
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Long Branch
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Long Branch is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
- Population from the 2020 Census: 431 people
- Millsboro
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chestnut Ridge, with the one closest to Chestnut Ridge listed first.
- North Belle Vernon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- 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
- Gibsonton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Gibsonton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonton
- Monessen
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Smithton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Webster
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Webster is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Hawkeye
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hawkeye is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkeye
- Scottdale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- West Newton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Alverton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Alverton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alverton
- West Overton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- West Overton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Overton
- Wyano
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Wyano is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyano
- Iron Bridge
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Iron Bridge is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Bridge
- Garrett County (MD)
- Friendsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Monongalia County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Chestnut Ridge, with the one closest to Chestnut Ridge listed first.
- Canyon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Canyon is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon
- Cheat Lake
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Cheat Lake is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheat Lake
- Bowlby
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bowlby is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowlby
- Maidsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Maidsville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maidsville
- Baker Ridge
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Baker Ridge is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker Ridge
- Osage
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Osage is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osage
- Star City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Star City is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,984 people
- Brookhaven
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Brookhaven is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookhaven
- Morgantown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Westover
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Cassville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cassville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassville
- Granville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Granville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,156 people
- Preston County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Chestnut Ridge, with the one closest to Chestnut Ridge listed first.
- Clifton Mills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Clifton Mills is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton Mills
- Bruceton Mills
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Brandonville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Brandonville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
- Little Sandy
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Little Sandy is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Sandy
- Rockville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Rockville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
- Hazelton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Morgans Glade
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Morgans Glade is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgans Glade
- Masontown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Lenox
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Lenox is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenox
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Chestnut Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for Chestnut Ridge.
Cemeteries Near Chestnut Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Chestnut Ridge.
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 Chestnut Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Chestnut Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Chestnut Ridge, with the one closest to Chestnut Ridge listed first.
- Pleasant View Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Grace Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- St. Peters Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Moore Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- St. Mary Assumption Byzantine Catholic Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Mary Assumption Byzantine Catholic Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Mary Assumption Byzantine Catholic Church Cemetery is located outside and to the southwest of New Salem.
- The St. Mary Assumption Byzantine Catholic Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Mary Byzantine Catholic Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2431011 <2>
- St. Procopius RC Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Christ Episcopal Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Redstone Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bridgeport Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Tomasza Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Calvary Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (411 more) ...
- County Home Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. St. Macrina Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Laurel Hill 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.<3>
While we didn't find Chestnut Ridge in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Chestnut Ridge.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Chestnut Ridge, with the one closest to Chestnut Ridge listed first.
- Smock
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Searights
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Searights is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searights
- Dearth
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Dearth is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dearth
- Upper Middletown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Upper Middletown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Middletown
- Waltersburg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Waltersburg is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waltersburg
- Grindstone
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Rothruck
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Rothruck is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rothruck
- Tippecanoe
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Tippecanoe is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tippecanoe
- Davidson
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Davidson is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davidson
- Haddenville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Haddenville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haddenville
- Woodglen
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Woodglen is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodglen
- Merrittstown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Merrittstown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrittstown
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- New Salem
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Vances Mill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Vances Mill is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vances Mill
- Laurel Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Laurel Hill is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hill
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Chestnut Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Chestnut Ridge.
Newspapers Published in Chestnut Ridge ...
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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Chestnut Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Chestnut Ridge, 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 Chestnut Ridge.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Chestnut Ridge:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Fayette County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegheny County
- Greene County
- Somerset County
- Washington County
- Westmoreland County
- Garrett County
- Monongalia County
- Preston 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 Chestnut Ridge, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Chestnut Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |