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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 Donaldson (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 Donaldson. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Donaldson is located in Warren County.

To see how the shape of Pennsylvania's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Warren County: Cattaraugus (NY), Chautauqua (NY), Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, McKean & Venango.

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

  • Warren County     (The home county of Donaldson)
  • Clarion County
  • Elk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Donaldson, with the one closest to Donaldson listed first.
    • Windy City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Windy City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windy City
      • Windy City is located in Elk County
    • Russell City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Russell City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell City
      • Russell City is located in Elk County
    • James City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for James City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James City
      • James City is located in Elk County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for James City <2>
    • Wilcox
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Hallton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hallton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallton
      • Hallton is located in Elk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hallton
      • From Donaldson to Hallton
    • Streights
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Streights. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Streights
      • Streights is located in Elk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Streights
      • From Donaldson to Streights
    • Lake City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Millstone
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Johnsonburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Ridgway
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ridgway have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgway
      • Ridgway is located in Elk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,708 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ridgway <2>
    • Whistletown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Instanter
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Instanter have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Instanter
      • Instanter is located in Elk County
  • Forest County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Donaldson, with the one closest to Donaldson listed first.
    • Sheffield Junction
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Iron City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iron City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
      • Iron City is located in Forest County
    • Balltown
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Balltown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balltown
      • Balltown is located in Forest County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Balltown
      • From Donaldson to Balltown
    • Marienville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Roses
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Roses. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roses
      • Roses is located in Forest County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Roses
      • From Donaldson to Roses
    • Gilfoyle
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Redclyffe
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Redclyffe. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redclyffe
      • Redclyffe is located in Forest County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Redclyffe
      • From Donaldson to Redclyffe
    • Trunkeyville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Fagundus
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fagundus have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fagundus
      • Fagundus is located in Forest County
    • Clarington
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Tionesta
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Donaldson, with the one closest to Donaldson listed first.
    • Schoffner Corner
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Munderf
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Sigel
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Brockway
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brockway have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brockway
      • Brockway is located in Jefferson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,020 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brockway <2>
    • Warsaw
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Warsaw have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warsaw
      • Warsaw is located in Jefferson County
  • McKean County
  • Venango County
  • Cattaraugus County (NY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Donaldson, with the one closest to Donaldson listed first.
    • Onoville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Elko ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elko. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elko
      • Elko is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
      • Elko has also been known as:
      • Wolf Run
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Elko
      • From Donaldson to Elko
    • Quaker Bridge ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Quaker Bridge. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker Bridge
      • Quaker Bridge is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
      • Quaker Bridge has also been known as:
      • Tunesassa
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Quaker Bridge
      • From Donaldson to Quaker Bridge
  • Chautauqua County (NY)

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

Cemeteries Near Donaldson ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Donaldson.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Brookston Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Moriah Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Moriah Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Moriah Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cherry Grove Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cherry Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cherry Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Callistus Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Callistus Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Callistus Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Forest Lawn Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Forest Lawn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Forest Lawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Tabor Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Tabor Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Tabor Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lone Pine Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Highland Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Greendale Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greendale Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greendale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Irvine Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Irvine Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Irvine Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oakland Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oakland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oakland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Josephs Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Josephs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (84 more) ...
    • North Forest Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Forest Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Forest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Smith Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smith Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Smith Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Snyder Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Snyder Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Snyder Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Donaldson had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Barnes
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Barnes. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnes
    • Barnes is located in Warren County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Barnes
    • From Donaldson to Barnes
  • Sheffield
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Brookston
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookston have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookston
    • Brookston is located in Forest County
  • Saybrook
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Saybrook. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saybrook
    • Saybrook is located in Warren County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Saybrook
    • From Donaldson to Saybrook
  • Roystone
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Roystone. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roystone
    • Roystone is located in Warren County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Roystone
    • From Donaldson to Roystone
  • Sheffield Junction
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Ludlow
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ludlow have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludlow
    • Ludlow is located in McKean County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ludlow <2>
  • Chaffee
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chaffee have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaffee
    • Chaffee is located in Elk County
  • Tiona
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tiona have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiona
    • Tiona is located in Warren County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tiona <2>
  • Wetmore
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wetmore have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wetmore
    • Wetmore is located in McKean County
  • Cherry Grove
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherry Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Grove
    • Cherry Grove is located in Warren County
  • Balltown
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Balltown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balltown
    • Balltown is located in Forest County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Balltown
    • From Donaldson to Balltown
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Pigeon
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pigeon have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
      • Pigeon is located in Forest County
    • Byromtown
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Byromtown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byromtown
      • Byromtown is located in Forest County
    • Clarendon
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Donaldson ...

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 97 newspapers that have been published in the area around Donaldson.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Donaldson, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Donaldson.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Donaldson:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Donaldson. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>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.
<5>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Donaldson) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Donaldson. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.6603, Longitude: -79.0141    
<6>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 Donaldson, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025