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 northeast 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 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 east 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 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 Dawson. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Dawson:
- Fayette County (The home county of Dawson)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
- Vanderbilt
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Dickerson Run
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Dickerson Run is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickerson Run
- Leisenring
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Leisenring is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisenring
- Connellsville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Rogerstown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Rogerstown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogerstown
- Everson
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Everson is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
- Sitka
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Sitka is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sitka
- Flatwoods
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Flatwoods is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatwoods
- Fuller
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Fuller is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Perryopolis
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Dunbar
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- South Connellsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Bitner
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Bitner is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bitner
- Allegheny County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
- Sunny Side
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sunny Side is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Side
- Buena Vista
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Buena Vista is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Elizabeth
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Boston
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Clairton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lincoln
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lincoln is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,013 people
- Versailles
(20 miles [32.2 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
- West Elizabeth
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Mendelssohn
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mendelssohn is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mendelssohn
- Coal Valley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Coal Valley is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Valley
- Jefferson Hills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- 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
- Liberty
(22 miles [35.4 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
- Port Vue
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Port Vue is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Vue
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,623 people
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
- Stringtown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Stringtown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Nemacolin
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Nemacolin is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nemacolin
- Carmichaels
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Cumberland Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Cumberland Village is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
- Fairdale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Fairdale is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
- Rices Landing
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Ceylon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ceylon is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceylon
- Chartiers
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Chartiers is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartiers
- Clarksville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Greensboro
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Jefferson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Jefferson is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
- Khedive
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Khedive is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Khedive
- Dilliner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Dilliner is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dilliner
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
- Draketown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Draketown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draketown
- Confluence
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bakersville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Bakersville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
- New Lexington
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- New Lexington is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lexington
- New Centerville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- New Centerville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Centerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
- Casselman
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Casselman is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casselman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- Markleton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lavansville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Lavansville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavansville
- Addison
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ursina
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ursina is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ursina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
- Rockwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Roytown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Roytown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roytown
- Listonburg
(27 miles [43.5 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 Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
- Allenport
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Blainsburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Blainsburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blainsburg
- California
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Elco
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Elco is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elco
- Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
- Roscoe
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Roscoe is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roscoe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 791 people
- Speers
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Speers is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speers
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,061 people
- West Brownsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- West Brownsville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brownsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
- Donora
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Coal Center
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Dunlevy
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Long Branch
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Long Branch is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
- Population from the 2020 Census: 431 people
- Stockdale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Twilight
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Twilight is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilight
- Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
- Scottdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Hawkeye
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hawkeye is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkeye
- West Overton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- West Overton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Overton
- Alverton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Alverton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alverton
- Iron Bridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Iron Bridge is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Bridge
- Smithton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Pleasant
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wyano
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Wyano is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyano
- Mount Joy
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Joy is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Joy
- Hunker
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Yukon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- New Stanton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- North Belle Vernon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- 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
- Garrett County (MD)
- Friendsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Monongalia County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
- Cheat Lake
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Cheat Lake is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheat Lake
- Canyon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Canyon is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon
- Maidsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Maidsville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maidsville
- Baker Ridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Baker Ridge is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker Ridge
- Bowlby
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bowlby is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowlby
- Preston County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
- Clifton Mills
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Clifton Mills is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton Mills
- Brandonville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Brandonville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
- Bruceton Mills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Hazelton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Little Sandy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Little Sandy is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Sandy
- Rockville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Rockville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
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.
- Sacred Heart RC Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sacred Heart RC Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Sacred Heart RC Cemetery is located in Dickerson Run.
- The Sacred Heart RC Cemetery has also been known as:
- Sacred Heart Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2439278 <2>
- Dickerson Run - Union Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Cochran Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Bethel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Bowman - Flatwoods Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- St. Stephens Byzantine Catholic Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- St. John's Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- St. Emery's Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Emery's Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Emery's Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<3> to the north of Connellsville.
- The St. Emery's Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Emery Cemetery
- St. Emery New Cemetery
- St. Emerys Cemetery
- St. Emory Cemetery
- St. Emory New Cemetery
- St. Emorys Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #46020 <2>
- Holy Trinity Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holy Trinity Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Holy Trinity Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Connellsville.
- The Holy Trinity Cemetery has also been known as:
- Holy Trinity RC Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1993674 <2>
- Chestnut Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- St. Josephs Cemetery (Old)
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hill Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (357 more) ...
- St. Josephs Cemetery (New)
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- St. Ritas Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Ritas Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Ritas Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of Connellsville.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #46251 <2>
- Scottdale 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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Dawson had a population of 668 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Dawson had a population of 343 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Dawson, with the one closest to Dawson listed first.
- Dickerson Run
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Dickerson Run is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickerson Run
- Vanderbilt
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Adelaide
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Adelaide is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelaide
- Crossland
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Crossland is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crossland
- Broad Ford
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Broad Ford is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broad Ford
- Leisenring
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Leisenring is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisenring
- Trotter
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Trotter is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trotter
- Wheeler
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wheeler is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler
- New Haven
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- New Haven is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Haven
- Connellsville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Owensdale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Owensdale is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owensdale
- Flatwoods
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Flatwoods is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatwoods
- Continue List (19 more) ...
- Monarch
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Monarch is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monarch
- Sitka
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Sitka is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sitka
- Moyer
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Moyer is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moyer
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 37 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 10 miles [16.1 km]<3>. 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 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 Dawson:
- 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> | 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'. |
| <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 Dawson, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |