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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 Derry (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 Derry. 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 and hospitals 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.

Derry is located in Westmoreland 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 Westmoreland County: Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler, Cambria, Fayette, Indiana & Somerset.

Below are the counties that are near Derry. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Derry:

  • Westmoreland County     (The home county of Derry)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Derry, with the one closest to Derry listed first.
    • New Derry
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Kingston
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Kingston is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
    • McChesneytown - Loyalhanna
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Youngstown
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Latrobe
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Latrobe is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latrobe
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,767 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Latrobe <1>
    • Darlington
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Darlington is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darlington
    • Lawson Heights
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Lawson Heights is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawson Heights
    • Burrell
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Burrell is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burrell
    • Manito
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Manito is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manito
    • Beatty
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Beatty is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beatty
    • New Alexandria
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Ligonier
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Oak Grove
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Oak Grove is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
  • Allegheny County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Derry, with the one closest to Derry listed first.
    • Plum
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Plum is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 26,993 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plum <1>
    • Pitcairn
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Wall
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Wall is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wall
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 553 people
    • Leechburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Leechburg is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leechburg
    • New Texas
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • New Texas is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Texas
    • Buena Vista
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Buena Vista is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
    • East McKeesport
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Garden City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Garden City is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
    • Monroeville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • North Versailles
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • White Oak
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Wilmerding
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Boston
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Armstrong County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Derry, with the one closest to Derry listed first.
    • Edmon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Edmon is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmon
    • Olivet
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Olivet is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
    • Apollo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Apollo is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apollo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,507 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Apollo <1>
    • North Apollo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Orchard Hills
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Orchard Hills is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
    • Spring Church
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Cochrans Mills
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Cochrans Mills is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrans Mills
    • Elderton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Leechburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Atwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Atwood is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 100 people
    • Tunnelville ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Tunnelville is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnelville
    • Whitesburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Whitesburg is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesburg
    • Neale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Neale is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neale
  • Cambria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Derry, with the one closest to Derry listed first.
    • Westmont
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Westmont is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westmont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,625 people
    • Brownstown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Cambria City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Cambria City is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambria City
    • Elim
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Elim is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elim
    • Lilly
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Lilly is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilly
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 873 people
    • Southmont
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Southmont is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southmont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,048 people
    • Wilmore
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Conemaugh
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Conemaugh is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conemaugh
    • Ferndale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Johnstown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Daisytown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Daisytown is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisytown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 290 people
    • Dale
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Dale is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,110 people
    • Lorain
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Lorain is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorain
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 680 people
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Derry, with the one closest to Derry listed first.
    • Bear Rocks
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Bear Rocks is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Rocks
    • Laurelville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Laurelville is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelville
    • Champion
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • White
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • White is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
    • Indian Head
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Indian Head is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Head
    • Seven Springs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Everson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Everson is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
    • Connellsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Banning
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Banning is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banning
    • Dawson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Dickerson Run
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Dickerson Run is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickerson Run
    • South Connellsville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Vanderbilt
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Indiana County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Derry, with the one closest to Derry listed first.
    • Blairsville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Bow
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Bow is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow
    • Robinson
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Robinson is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
    • Black Lick
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Black Lick is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Lick
    • Palmertown
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • White
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • White is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
    • Josephine
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Josephine is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Josephine
    • Coral
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Graceton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Graceton is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graceton
    • Clarksburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Jacksonville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Jacksonville is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
    • Heshbon
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Heshbon is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heshbon
    • Smathers
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Smathers is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smathers
  • Somerset County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Derry, with the one closest to Derry listed first.
    • Laurel Mountain Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Jennerstown
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jenners Crossroads
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Jenners Crossroads is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenners Crossroads
    • Roytown
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Roytown is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roytown
    • Thomas Mill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Thomas Mill is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Mill
    • Jenners
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jenners is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenners
    • Jerome
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jerome is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerome
    • Sipesville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Sipesville is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipesville
    • Davidsville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Bakersville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Bakersville is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
    • Tire Hill
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Tire Hill is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tire Hill
    • Benson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Benson is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 184 people
    • Hollsopple
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Derry, see our County-by-County Page for Derry.

Cemeteries Near Derry ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Derry.

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 Derry - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Derry covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Derry, with the one closest to Derry listed first.

  • Coles Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Rose Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Mt. Carmel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • St. James Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Keltz Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Unity Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • St. Vincent Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Xavier Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Ligonier Valley Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ligonier Valley Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Ligonier Valley Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Ligonier.
    • The Ligonier Valley Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Valley Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1921576 <2>
  • Blairsville Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (286 more) ...
    • Union Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Craig Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Shirey Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)

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 Derry in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Derry.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Derry, with the one closest to Derry listed first.

  • New Derry
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Millwood
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Millwood is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millwood
  • Bradenville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Bradenville is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradenville
  • Loyalhanna
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Loyalhanna is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyalhanna
  • Osburn
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Osburn is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osburn
  • Kingston
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Kingston is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
  • Hillside
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hillside is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillside
  • Latrobe
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Latrobe is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latrobe
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,767 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Latrobe <1>
  • Youngstown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • McCance
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • McCance is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCance
  • Darlington
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Darlington is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darlington
  • Bells
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Bells is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bells
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Grays
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Grays is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grays
    • Beatty
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Beatty is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beatty
    • Manito
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Manito is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manito

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Derry. See our List of 1890's Communities around Derry.

Newspapers Published in Derry ...

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 46 newspapers that have been published in the area around Derry.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Derry, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Derry.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Derry:

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 Derry, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Derry) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.