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 Deer Lake (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 Deer Lake. 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 Deer Lake ...
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 Deer Lake: Deer Lk.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Deer Lake. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Deer Lake.
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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Deer Lake 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 Deer Lake. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Deer Lake:
- Fayette County (The home county of Deer Lake)
- The following are listed by their distance from Deer Lake, with the one closest to Deer Lake listed first.
- Mount Washington
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Mount Washington is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Washington
- Farmington
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ohiopyle
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Lemont Furnace
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Elliottsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Elliottsville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliottsville
- East Uniontown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- East Uniontown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Uniontown
- Evans
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Evans is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
- Mount Independence
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Independence is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Independence
- Hopwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Hutchinson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Hutchinson is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutchinson
- Uniontown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Leith
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Leith is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leith
- Allegheny County
- Sunny Side
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sunny Side is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Side
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Deer Lake, with the one closest to Deer Lake listed first.
- Greensboro
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Nemacolin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Nemacolin is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nemacolin
- Stringtown
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Stringtown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Dilliner
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Dilliner is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dilliner
- Carmichaels
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Ceylon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Ceylon is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceylon
- Cumberland Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Cumberland Village is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
- Fairdale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Fairdale is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
- Dunkard
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Dunkard is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunkard
- Rices Landing
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Khedive
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Khedive is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Khedive
- Chartiers
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Chartiers is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartiers
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Deer Lake, with the one closest to Deer Lake listed first.
- Draketown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Draketown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draketown
- Confluence
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Addison
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ursina
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ursina is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ursina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
- Listonburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Listonburg is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Listonburg
- Markleton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- New Lexington
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- New Lexington is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lexington
- Casselman
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Casselman is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casselman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- New Centerville
(21 miles [33.8 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
- Rockwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Bakersville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Bakersville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
- Lavansville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lavansville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavansville
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Deer Lake, with the one closest to Deer Lake listed first.
- Blainsburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Blainsburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blainsburg
- West Brownsville
(20 miles [32.2 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
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Allenport
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Coal Center
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Daisytown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Elco
(22 miles [35.4 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
(22 miles [35.4 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
- Dunlevy
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Fredericktown - Millsboro
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Long Branch
(23 miles [37 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
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Deer Lake, with the one closest to Deer Lake listed first.
- Scottdale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Hawkeye
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Hawkeye is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkeye
- Iron Bridge
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Iron Bridge is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Bridge
- West Overton
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- West Overton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Overton
- Alverton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Alverton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alverton
- Mount Joy
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Mount Joy is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Joy
- Mount Pleasant
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Donegal
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Smithton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Hunker
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Kecksburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Kecksburg is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kecksburg
- Gibsonton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Gibsonton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonton
- Garrett County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Deer Lake, with the one closest to Deer Lake listed first.
- Friendsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Accident
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- McHenry
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Bittinger
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Grantsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hutton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Hutton is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutton
- Monongalia County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Deer Lake, with the one closest to Deer Lake listed first.
- Cheat Lake
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Cheat Lake is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheat Lake
- Canyon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Canyon is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon
- Baker Ridge
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Baker Ridge is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker Ridge
- Brookhaven
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Brookhaven is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookhaven
- Bowlby
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Bowlby is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowlby
- Maidsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Maidsville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maidsville
- Morgantown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- 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
- Westover
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- 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
- Osage
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Osage is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osage
- Laurel Point
(27 miles [43.5 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 Deer Lake, with the one closest to Deer Lake listed first.
- Clifton Mills
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Clifton Mills is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton Mills
- Brandonville
(12 miles [19.3 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
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Hazelton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Little Sandy
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Little Sandy is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Sandy
- Rockville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Rockville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
- Morgans Glade
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Morgans Glade is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgans Glade
- Lenox
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Lenox is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenox
- Orr
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Orr is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orr
- Masontown
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Albright
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Kingwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Deer Lake, see our County-by-County Page for Deer Lake.
Cemeteries Near Deer Lake ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Deer Lake.
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 Deer Lake - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Deer Lake covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Deer Lake, with the one closest to Deer Lake listed first.
- Sunsetview Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Mt. Washington Presbyterian Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Spear Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Hull Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Sproul Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Middle Ridge Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Workman Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Van Sickle Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Thomas Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Sansom Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Sugar Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Sugar Grove Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<3> to the northeast of Ohiopyle.
- The Sugar Grove Cemetery has also been known as:
- Maple Grove Cemetery
- Ohiopyle Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #45346 <2>
- Greenbrier Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (314 more) ...
- Tharp Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Roebuck Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Holy Society Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
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>
While we didn't find Deer Lake in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Deer Lake.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Deer Lake, with the one closest to Deer Lake listed first.
- Farmington
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jumonville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Jumonville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumonville
- Elliottsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Elliottsville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliottsville
- Ohiopyle
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Lemont Furnace
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Percy
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Percy is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Percy
- Morgan
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Morgan is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan
- Evans
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Evans is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
- Hopwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Hutchinson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Hutchinson is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutchinson
- Brownfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Brownfield is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownfield
- Ferguson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Ferguson is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferguson
- Continue List (21 more) ...
- Gibbon Glade
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Gibbon Glade is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibbon Glade
- Mount Braddock
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Braddock is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Braddock
- Stewarton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Stewarton is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewarton
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Deer Lake. See our List of 1890's Communities around Deer Lake.
Newspapers Published in Deer Lake ...
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 58 newspapers that have been published in the area around Deer Lake.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Deer Lake, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Deer Lake.
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 Deer Lake:
- 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Deer Lake) 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 Deer Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |