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 Donegal (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 Donegal. 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 doctors and 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.
Donegal 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 Donegal. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Donegal:
- Westmoreland County (The home county of Donegal)
- The following are listed by their distance from Donegal, with the one closest to Donegal listed first.
- Stahlstown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Kecksburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Kecksburg is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kecksburg
- Mount Joy
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Mount Joy is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Joy
- Lycippus
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Lycippus is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lycippus
- Rector
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Calumet
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- United
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- United is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for United
- Iron Bridge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Iron Bridge is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Bridge
- Mount Pleasant
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- West Overton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- West Overton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Overton
- Manito
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Manito is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manito
- Darlington
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Darlington is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darlington
- Alverton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Alverton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alverton
- Allegheny County
- The following are listed by their distance from Donegal, with the one closest to Donegal listed first.
- Buena Vista
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Buena Vista is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Boston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lincoln
(27 miles [43.5 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
(27 miles [43.5 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
- Sunny Side
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Sunny Side is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Side
- Wall
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Wall is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 553 people
- White Oak
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Clairton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- East McKeesport
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty
(29 miles [46.7 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
- McKeesport
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- North Versailles
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Elizabeth
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Armstrong County
- Edmon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Edmon is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmon
- Cambria County
- The following are listed by their distance from Donegal, with the one closest to Donegal listed first.
- Elim
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Elim is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elim
- Southmont
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Southmont is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southmont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,048 people
- Westmont
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Westmont is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westmont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,625 people
- Ingleside
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Ingleside is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleside
- Brownstown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ferndale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lilly
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lilly is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilly
- Population from the 2020 Census: 873 people
- Belmont
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Belmont is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
- Cambria City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Cambria City is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambria City
- Conemaugh
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Conemaugh is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conemaugh
- Daisytown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Daisytown is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisytown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 290 people
- Dale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dale is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,110 people
- Johnstown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Donegal, with the one closest to Donegal listed first.
- Champion
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- White
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- White is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Bear Rocks
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Bear Rocks is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Rocks
- Laurelville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Laurelville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelville
- Indian Head
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Indian Head is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Head
- Seven Springs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Everson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Everson is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
- Connellsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- South Connellsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Sitka
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Sitka is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sitka
- Dunbar
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rogerstown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rogerstown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogerstown
- Dawson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Donegal, with the one closest to Donegal listed first.
- Blairsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Bow
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Bow is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow
- Robinson
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Robinson is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
- White
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- White is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Black Lick
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Black Lick is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Lick
- Palmertown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Josephine
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Josephine is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Josephine
- Clarksburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Coral
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Heshbon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Heshbon is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heshbon
- Graceton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Graceton is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graceton
- Jacksonville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Jacksonville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
- Armagh
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Donegal, with the one closest to Donegal listed first.
- Bakersville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bakersville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
- Roytown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Roytown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roytown
- Laurel Mountain Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Lavansville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Lavansville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavansville
- New Lexington
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- New Lexington is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lexington
- Husband
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Husband is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Husband
- Sipesville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Sipesville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipesville
- New Centerville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- New Centerville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Centerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
- Jennerstown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Gideon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Gideon is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gideon
- Jenners Crossroads
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Jenners Crossroads is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenners Crossroads
- Jenners
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Jenners is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenners
- Somerset
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Donegal, with the one closest to Donegal listed first.
- Donora
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Allenport
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Dunlevy
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Roscoe
(26 miles [41.8 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
(26 miles [41.8 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
- Twilight
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Twilight is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilight
- Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
- Blainsburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Blainsburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blainsburg
- California
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Charleroi
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Coal Center
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Elco
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Elco is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elco
- Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
- Long Branch
(27 miles [43.5 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
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Donegal, see our County-by-County Page for Donegal.
Cemeteries Near Donegal ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Donegal.
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 Donegal - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Donegal covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Donegal, with the one closest to Donegal listed first.
- Brown Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Porch Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Mt. Nebo Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- St. Raymonds Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Dan Snyder Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dan Snyder Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Dan Snyder Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the northwest of Indian Head.
- The Dan Snyder Cemetery has also been known as:
- Snyder Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1191187 <3>
- Nedrow Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Snowball Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Bethel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Green Lick Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Normalville Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hillview Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Fairview Church Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Continue List (281 more) ...
- Bakersville Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cole Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- St. Michael's Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Michael's Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Michael's Cemetery is located outside and to the north of Rector.
- The St. Michael's Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Michael's of the Valley Episcopal Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2267682 <3>
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 Donegal had a population of 163 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Donegal had a population of 109 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Donegal, with the one closest to Donegal listed first.
- Jones Mills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Acme
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Stahlstown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- White
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- White is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Laurelville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Laurelville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelville
- Indian Head
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Indian Head is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Head
- Kecksburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Kecksburg is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kecksburg
- Mammoth
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mammoth is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mammoth
- Normalville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Lycippus
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Lycippus is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lycippus
- Calumet
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Whitney
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Whitney is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Bakersville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bakersville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
- Pleasant Unity
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Trauger
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Trauger is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trauger
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Donegal. See our List of 1890's Communities around Donegal.
Newspapers Published in Donegal ...
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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Donegal.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Donegal, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Donegal.
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 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 Donegal:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Westmoreland County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegheny County
- Armstrong County
- Cambria County
- Fayette County
- Indiana County
- Somerset County
- Washington 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Donegal) 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 Donegal, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |