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 Donnelly (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 Donnelly. 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.
Donnelly 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 Donnelly. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Donnelly:
- Westmoreland County (The home county of Donnelly)
- The following are listed by their distance from Donnelly, with the one closest to Donnelly listed first.
- Alverton
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Alverton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alverton
- Hawkeye
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Hawkeye is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkeye
- Scottdale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- West Overton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- West Overton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Overton
- Mount Pleasant
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Iron Bridge
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Iron Bridge is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Bridge
- Hunker
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Mount Joy
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Mount Joy is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Joy
- New Stanton
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Youngwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Wyano
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wyano is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyano
- Yukon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Calumet
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Allegheny County
- The following are listed by their distance from Donnelly, with the one closest to Donnelly listed first.
- Buena Vista
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Buena Vista is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Sunny Side
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Sunny Side is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Side
- Boston
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lincoln
(16 miles [25.7 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
- Elizabeth
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Versailles
(17 miles [27.4 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
- West Elizabeth
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- White Oak
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Clairton
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty
(18 miles [29 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
- Coal Valley
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Coal Valley is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Valley
- East McKeesport
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Glassport
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Armstrong County
- The following are listed by their distance from Donnelly, with the one closest to Donnelly listed first.
- Edmon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Edmon is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmon
- Apollo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Orchard Hills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Orchard Hills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Donnelly, with the one closest to Donnelly listed first.
- Everson
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Everson is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
- Laurelville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Laurelville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelville
- Bear Rocks
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Bear Rocks is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Rocks
- Dawson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Dickerson Run
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Dickerson Run is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickerson Run
- Connellsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Fuller
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Fuller is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Lynn
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Lynn is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
- Perryopolis
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Vanderbilt
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Banning
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Banning is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banning
- Whitsett
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Whitsett is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitsett
- White
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- White is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Donnelly, with the one closest to Donnelly listed first.
- Stringtown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Stringtown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Cumberland Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cumberland Village is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
- Nemacolin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Nemacolin is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nemacolin
- Rices Landing
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Carmichaels
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Clarksville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Fairdale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Fairdale is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
- Chartiers
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Chartiers is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartiers
- Ceylon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ceylon is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceylon
- Jefferson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Jefferson is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
- Greensboro
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Khedive
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Khedive is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Khedive
- Lippincott
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lippincott is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lippincott
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Donnelly, with the one closest to Donnelly listed first.
- White
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- White is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Bow
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Bow is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow
- Blairsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Clarksburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Robinson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Robinson is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Donnelly, with the one closest to Donnelly listed first.
- Bakersville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Bakersville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
- Draketown
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Draketown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draketown
- New Lexington
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- New Lexington is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lexington
- Laurel Mountain Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Roytown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Roytown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roytown
- Lavansville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Lavansville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavansville
- New Centerville
(25 miles [40.2 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
- Sipesville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Sipesville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipesville
- Confluence
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Husband
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Husband is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Husband
- Casselman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Casselman is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casselman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- Markleton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Jenners Crossroads
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Jenners Crossroads is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenners Crossroads
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Donnelly, with the one closest to Donnelly listed first.
- Donora
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Allenport
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Charleroi
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Dunlevy
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Roscoe
(15 miles [24.1 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
(15 miles [24.1 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
- Stockdale
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Twilight
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Twilight is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilight
- Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
- Black Diamond
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Black Diamond is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Diamond
- California
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Coal Center
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Elco
(16 miles [25.7 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
(16 miles [25.7 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
- Preston County (WV)
- Clifton Mills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Clifton Mills is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton Mills
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Donnelly, see our County-by-County Page for Donnelly.
Cemeteries Near Donnelly ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Donnelly.
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 Donnelly - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Donnelly covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Donnelly, with the one closest to Donnelly listed first.
- Mt. Lebanon United Methodist Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Polish Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Scottdale Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Fairview Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Green Lick Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bethel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Green Ridge Memorial Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Stone Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Cochran Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (354 more) ...
- Yukon Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hoffman Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoffman Cemetery
- The Hoffman Cemetery has also been known as:
- Hope Lutheran Church Cemetery
- Old Brick Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #45096 <2>
- Errett Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
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 Donnelly in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Donnelly.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Donnelly, with the one closest to Donnelly listed first.
- Hawkeye
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Hawkeye is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkeye
- Morewood
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Morewood is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morewood
- Tarrs
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Ruffs Dale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Scottdale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- West Overton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- West Overton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Overton
- Everson
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Everson is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
- Iron Bridge
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Iron Bridge is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Bridge
- Mount Pleasant
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Hunker
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Owensdale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Owensdale is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owensdale
- Pennsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Pennsville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennsville
- Continue List (20 more) ...
- Southwest
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Southwest is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southwest
- Weavers Old Stand
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Weavers Old Stand is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weavers Old Stand
- Foxtown
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Foxtown is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foxtown
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Donnelly. See our List of 1890's Communities around Donnelly.
Newspapers Published in Donnelly ...
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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around Donnelly.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Donnelly, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Donnelly.
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 Donnelly:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Westmoreland County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegheny County
- Armstrong County
- Fayette County
- Greene County
- Indiana County
- Somerset County
- Washington 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> | 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 Donnelly, 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- Donnelly) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |