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 Decatur (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 Decatur. 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 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.
Decatur is located in Mifflin 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 Mifflin County: Centre, Huntingdon, Juniata, Snyder & Union.
Below are the counties that are near Decatur. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Decatur:
- Mifflin County (The home county of Decatur)
- The following are listed by their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
- Alfarata
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Alfarata is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alfarata
- Paintersville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Paintersville is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paintersville
- Honey Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Honey Creek is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
- Burnham
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Highland Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Highland Park is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Park
- Yeagertown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Milroy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Reedsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Lumber City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Lumber City is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumber City
- Lewistown Junction
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lewistown Junction is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewistown Junction
- Lewistown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Juniata Terrace
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Juniata Terrace is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juniata Terrace
- Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
- Allegheny County
- Bloomfield
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Bloomfield is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,255 people
- Centre County
- The following are listed by their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
- Ingleby
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Ingleby is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleby
- Coburn
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Zerby
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Zerby is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zerby
- Potters Mills
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Potters Mills is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potters Mills
- Fruittown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Fruittown is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruittown
- Penn Hall
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Penn Hall is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penn Hall
- Spring Mills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Millheim
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Centre Hill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Centre Hill is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centre Hill
- Aaronsburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Fiedler
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Fiedler is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiedler
- Centre Hall
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
- Tylersville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Tylersville is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tylersville
- Greenburr
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Greenburr is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenburr
- Lamar
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Abdera
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Abdera is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abdera
- Loganton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Cedar Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Cedar Springs is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Springs
- Rote
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Rote is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rote
- Salona
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Salona is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salona
- Mill Hall
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Castanea
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Flemington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Flemington is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flemington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,312 people
- Lock Haven
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Dauphin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
- Millersburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Paxton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Paxton is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxton
- Huntingdon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
- Ennisville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Ennisville is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ennisville
- Donation
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Donation is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donation
- Neffs Mills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Neffs Mills is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neffs Mills
- Mill Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Union
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Juniata County
- The following are listed by their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
- Mifflin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Mifflin is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mifflin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 606 people
- Mifflintown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- McAlisterville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Port Royal
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Swales
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Swales is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swales
- Old Port
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Old Port is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Port
- Mexico
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mexico is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexico
- Locust Run
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Locust Run is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Run
- Doyles Mills
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Doyles Mills is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doyles Mills
- Thompsontown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Richfield
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Knousetown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Knousetown is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knousetown
- Northumberland County
- Malta
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Malta is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malta
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
- Ickesburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Ickesburg is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ickesburg
- Eshcol
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Eshcol is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eshcol
- Millerstown
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Kistler
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Kistler is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kistler
- Reward
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Reward is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reward
- Pfoutz Valley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Pfoutz Valley is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pfoutz Valley
- Bixler
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Bixler is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bixler
- Elliottsburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Elliottsburg is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliottsburg
- Newport
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Centre
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Centre is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centre
- Cisna Run
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Cisna Run is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cisna Run
- Blain
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Snyder County
- The following are listed by their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
- Bannerville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bannerville is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bannerville
- McClure
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Middle Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Middle Creek is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Creek
- Beaver Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Beaver Springs is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Springs
- Benfer
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Benfer is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benfer
- Beavertown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Troxelville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Troxelville is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troxelville
- Paxtonville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Paxtonville is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxtonville
- Coon Hunter
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Coon Hunter is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coon Hunter
- Middleburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Mount Pleasant Mills
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Penns Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
- Cherry Run
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cherry Run is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Run
- Pardee
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Pardee is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pardee
- Glen Iron
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Glen Iron is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Iron
- Laurelton
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Laurelton is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelton
- Hartleton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hartleton is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartleton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 275 people
- Millmont
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mifflinburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- New Berlin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Red Bank
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Red Bank is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Decatur, see our County-by-County Page for Decatur.
Cemeteries Near Decatur ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Decatur.
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 Decatur - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Decatur covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
- Belltown Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Alfarata Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Old Salem Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Birch Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Rock Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Union Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Rothrock - Hoyt Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Lind Memorial Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- St. Stephens Lutheran Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Stephens Lutheran Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Stephens Lutheran Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the west of Mifflin.
- The St. Stephens Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Stephens Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1981847 <3>
- Hooleys Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Millers Tomb
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (169 more) ...
- Union Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Diven Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Rothrock Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Decatur had a population of 139 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
- Alfarata
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Alfarata is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alfarata
- Shindle
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Shindle is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shindle
- Soradoville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Soradoville is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soradoville
- Paintersville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Paintersville is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paintersville
- Wagner
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Wagner is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wagner
- Vira
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Vira is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vira
- Maitland
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Maitland is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maitland
- Siglerville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Siglerville is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siglerville
- Naginey
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Naginey is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naginey
- Honey Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Honey Creek is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
- Bannerville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bannerville is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bannerville
- Reedsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Yeagertown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- McClure
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Crossgrove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Crossgrove is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crossgrove
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Decatur. See our List of 1890's Communities around Decatur.
Newspapers Published in Decatur ...
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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Decatur.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Decatur, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Decatur.
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 Decatur:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Mifflin County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegheny County
- Centre County
- Clinton County
- Dauphin County
- Huntingdon County
- Juniata County
- Northumberland County
- Perry County
- Snyder County
- Union 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Decatur) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Decatur, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |