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 Collier (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 Collier. 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 southwest 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 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.
Collier 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 Collier. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Collier:
- Fayette County (The home county of Collier)
- The following are listed by their distance from Collier, with the one closest to Collier listed first.
- Highhouse
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Highhouse is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highhouse
- Shoaf
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Shoaf is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoaf
- Hutchinson
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Hutchinson is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutchinson
- Uledi
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Uledi is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uledi
- Leith
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Leith is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leith
- Smithfield
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Woodside
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Woodside is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodside
- Hopwood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Uniontown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hoover
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hoover is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoover
- Puritan
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Puritan is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puritan
- Haydentown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Haydentown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haydentown
- East Uniontown
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- East Uniontown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Uniontown
- Allegheny County
- The following are listed by their distance from Collier, with the one closest to Collier listed first.
- Sunny Side
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Sunny Side is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Side
- Buena Vista
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Buena Vista is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Elizabeth
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- West Elizabeth
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Collier, with the one closest to Collier listed first.
- Nemacolin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Nemacolin is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nemacolin
- Greensboro
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Stringtown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Stringtown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Dilliner
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Dilliner is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dilliner
- Carmichaels
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Ceylon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Ceylon is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceylon
- Cumberland Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Cumberland Village is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
- Fairdale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Fairdale is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
- Dunkard
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Dunkard is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunkard
- Rices Landing
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Khedive
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Khedive is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Khedive
- Jefferson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Jefferson is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
- Chartiers
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Chartiers is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartiers
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Collier, with the one closest to Collier listed first.
- Draketown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Draketown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draketown
- Confluence
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Ursina
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Ursina is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ursina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
- Addison
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Listonburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Listonburg is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Listonburg
- Markleton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- New Lexington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- New Lexington is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lexington
- Casselman
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Casselman is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casselman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Collier, with the one closest to Collier listed first.
- Blainsburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Blainsburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blainsburg
- Millsboro
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- West Brownsville
(14 miles [22.5 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
- Fredericktown - Millsboro
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- California
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Coal Center
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Daisytown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Deemston
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Deemston is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deemston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 696 people
- Allenport
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Elco
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Elco is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elco
- Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
- Speers
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Speers is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speers
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,061 people
- Stockdale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Centerville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Centerville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,133 people
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Collier, with the one closest to Collier listed first.
- North Belle Vernon
(19 miles [30.6 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
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Gibsonton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonton
- Scottdale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Monessen
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Smithton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Hawkeye
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hawkeye is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkeye
- Iron Bridge
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Iron Bridge is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Bridge
- West Overton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- West Overton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Overton
- Alverton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Alverton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alverton
- Webster
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Webster is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- West Newton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Wyano
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Wyano is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyano
- Mount Pleasant
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Garrett County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Collier, with the one closest to Collier listed first.
- Friendsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Accident
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- McHenry
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Marion County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Collier, with the one closest to Collier listed first.
- Hoodsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hoodsville is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoodsville
- Pleasant View
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant View is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Mount Harmony
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Harmony is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Harmony
- Rivesville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Grant Town
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Grant Town is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Town
- Population from the 2020 Census: 590 people
- Canton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Canton is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
- Fairview
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Estimated population in 2021: 373 people
- Monongalia County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Collier, with the one closest to Collier listed first.
- Cheat Lake
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Cheat Lake is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheat Lake
- Canyon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Canyon is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon
- Baker Ridge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Baker Ridge is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker Ridge
- Bowlby
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bowlby is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowlby
- Maidsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Maidsville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maidsville
- Brookhaven
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Brookhaven is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookhaven
- Morgantown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Osage
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Osage is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osage
- Star City
(17 miles [27.4 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
- Westover
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Granville
(18 miles [29 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
- Cassville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Cassville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassville
- Laurel Point
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Laurel Point is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Point
- Preston County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Collier, with the one closest to Collier listed first.
- Clifton Mills
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Clifton Mills is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton Mills
- Brandonville
(15 miles [24.1 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
- Bruceton Mills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Rockville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Rockville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
- Little Sandy
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Little Sandy is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Sandy
- Hazelton
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Morgans Glade
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Morgans Glade is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgans Glade
- Masontown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Lenox
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lenox is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenox
- Reedsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Arthurdale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Orr
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Orr is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orr
- Albright
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Collier, see our County-by-County Page for Collier.
Cemeteries Near Collier ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Collier.
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 Collier - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Collier covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Collier, with the one closest to Collier listed first.
- Fairchance Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairchance Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Fairchance Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Fairchance.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1969827 <2>
- Fairchance Veterans Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Maple Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- St. Josephs Cemetery (Fairchance)
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Little White Rock Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Mountain View Memorial Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Tomasza Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Reformed Jewish Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Hopwood.
- The St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. John Byzantine Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2170323 <2>
- St. Josephs Cemetery (Hopwood)
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (371 more) ...
- Oak Lawn Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Calvary Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. St. Macrina Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
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 Collier in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Collier.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Collier, with the one closest to Collier listed first.
- Highhouse
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Highhouse is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highhouse
- Oliphant Furnace
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Oliphant Furnace is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oliphant Furnace
- Woodside
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Woodside is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodside
- Smithfield
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Balsinger
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Balsinger is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balsinger
- Brownfield
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Brownfield is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownfield
- Hutchinson
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Hutchinson is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutchinson
- Leith
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Leith is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leith
- Haydentown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Haydentown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haydentown
- Hopwood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Uniontown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Old Frame
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Old Frame is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Frame
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Haddenville
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Haddenville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haddenville
- McClellandtown
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Searights
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Searights is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searights
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Collier. See our List of 1890's Communities around Collier.
Newspapers Published in Collier ...
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 43 newspapers that have been published in the area around Collier.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Collier, 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 Collier.
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 Collier:
- 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
- Marion 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 Collier, 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- Collier) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |