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 Dawson (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 Dawson. 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 doctors and 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.
Dawson is located in Beaver 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 Beaver County: Columbiana (OH), Allegheny, Butler, Lawrence, Washington & Hancock (WV).
Below are the counties that are near Dawson. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Dawson:
- Beaver County (The home county of Dawson)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
- Ohioville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ohioville is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ohioville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,262 people
- Industry
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Esther ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Esther is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esther
- Patterson Heights
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Patterson Heights is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 590 people
- Beaver
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Bridgewater
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Bridgewater is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgewater
- Population from the 2020 Census: 817 people
- Fallston
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Beaver Falls
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- New Brighton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Shippingport
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Shippingport is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shippingport
- Population from the 2020 Census: 187 people
- Midland
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Eastvale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Eastvale is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastvale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 203 people
- Allegheny County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
- Leetsdale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bell Acres
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bell Acres is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Acres
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,373 people
- Edgeworth
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Edgeworth is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgeworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,646 people
- Murdocksville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Murdocksville is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murdocksville
- Duff City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Duff City is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duff City
- Moon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Moon is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moon
- Borough of Glen Osborne
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Borough of Glen Osborne is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borough of Glen Osborne
- Population from the 2020 Census: 535 people
- Osborne
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Osborne is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osborne
- Sewickley Heights
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sewickley Heights is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sewickley Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 802 people
- Sewickley Hills
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sewickley Hills is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sewickley Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 693 people
- Sewickley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bradford Woods
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Bradford Woods is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford Woods
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,135 people
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
- Fernway
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Fernway is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernway
- Ogle
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Ogle is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogle
- Harmony
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Zelienople
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Fox Run
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Fox Run is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Run
- Seven Fields
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Seven Fields is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Fields
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,740 people
- Evans City
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Callery
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Myoma
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Myoma is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myoma
- Watters
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Watters is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watters
- Mars
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Portersville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
- Enon Valley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- New Beaver
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- New Beaver is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Beaver
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,419 people
- Wampum
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Ellport
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Ellport is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellport
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,102 people
- East Moravia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- East Moravia is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Moravia
- S.N.P.J
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- S.N.P.J is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for S.N.P.J
- Estimated population in 2019: 19 people
- Energy
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Energy is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Energy
- Mahoningtown
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Mahoningtown is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahoningtown
- Mount Jackson
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Mount Jackson is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Jackson
- Altman
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Altman is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altman
- Bessemer
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Oakland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Oakland is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
- Candor
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Candor is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Candor
- Paris
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Paris is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paris
- Dinsmore
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Dinsmore is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dinsmore
- Hanlin Station
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Hanlin Station is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanlin Station
- Midway
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- MacDonald
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- MacDonald is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for MacDonald
- McDonald
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Cross Creek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Cross Creek is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Creek
- Burgettstown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Pattersons Mill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Pattersons Mill is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pattersons Mill
- Woodrow
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Woodrow is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodrow
- Jefferson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Jefferson is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- Carroll County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
- Mechanicstown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Wattsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Wattsville is located in Carroll County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Columbiana County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
- East End
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- East End is located in Columbiana County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East End
- Calcutta
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- East Liverpool
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- La Croft
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- La Croft is located in Columbiana County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Croft
- Mill Rock
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mill Rock is located in Columbiana County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Rock
- State Line ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- State Line is located in Columbiana County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line
- Glenmoor
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Glenmoor is located in Columbiana County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenmoor
- East Carmel
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- East Carmel is located in Columbiana County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Carmel
- East Palestine
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Walkers
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Walkers is located in Columbiana County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkers
- Rogers
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Unity
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Unity is located in Columbiana County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unity
- Jefferson County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
- Empire
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Empire is located in Jefferson County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire
- Population from the 2020 Census: 279 people
- Stratton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Sugar Grove
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Sugar Grove is located in Jefferson County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
- Cream City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Cream City is located in Jefferson County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cream City
- Irondale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Irondale is located in Jefferson County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irondale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 355 people
- Toronto
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Knoxville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Knoxville is located in Jefferson County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knoxville
- New Somerset
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- New Somerset is located in Jefferson County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Somerset
- Island Creek
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Island Creek is located in Jefferson County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island Creek
- Osage
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Osage is located in Jefferson County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osage
- Alikanna
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Alikanna is located in Jefferson County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alikanna
- Steubenville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mahoning County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
- New Middletown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- North Lima
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- East Lewistown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- East Lewistown is located in Mahoning County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lewistown
- Lowellville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Poland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Boardman
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Greenford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Greenford is located in Mahoning County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenford
- Struthers
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Campbell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Hazelton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Hazelton is located in Mahoning County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelton
- Canfield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cornersburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Cornersburg is located in Mahoning County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornersburg
- Brooke County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
- Middle Ferry ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Middle Ferry is located in Brooke County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Ferry
- Follansbee
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Hooverson Heights
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Hooverson Heights is located in Brooke County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooverson Heights
- Lower Ferry ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lower Ferry is located in Brooke County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Ferry
- Hancock County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
- Lawrenceville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lawrenceville is located in Hancock County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrenceville
- Chester
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Newell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fairhaven
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fairhaven is located in Hancock County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhaven
- New Manchester
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- New Manchester is located in Hancock County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Manchester
- New Cumberland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Zalia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Zalia is located in Hancock County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zalia
- Weirton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Dawson, see our County-by-County Page for Dawson.
Cemeteries Near Dawson ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dawson.
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 Dawson - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Dawson covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
- St. Paul Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Glass Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Fairview Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Beaver Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Clark Park Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Salem Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Christler Family Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- North Branch Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Agudath Achim Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Beaver Falls Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (455 more) ...
- Seceder United Presbyterian Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Georgetown Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Chapel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
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 Dawson in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Dawson.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
- Ohioville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ohioville is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ohioville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,262 people
- Blackhawk
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Blackhawk is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackhawk
- Industry
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Bellowsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bellowsville is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellowsville
- Vanport
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Vanport is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanport
- Shippingport
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Shippingport is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shippingport
- Population from the 2020 Census: 187 people
- Holt
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Holt is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holt
- Beaver
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Bridgewater
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Bridgewater is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgewater
- Population from the 2020 Census: 817 people
- Fallston
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- New Brighton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Beaver Falls
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Smiths Ferry
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Smiths Ferry is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths Ferry
- Georgetown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- McCleary
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- McCleary is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCleary
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Dawson. See our List of 1890's Communities around Dawson.
Newspapers Published in Dawson ...
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 108 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dawson.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dawson, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dawson.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Dawson:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Beaver County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegheny County
- Butler County
- Lawrence County
- Washington County
- Carroll County
- Columbiana County
- Jefferson County
- Mahoning County
- Brooke County
- Hancock 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 Dawson, 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- Dawson) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |