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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 Downieville (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 Downieville. 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 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.

Downieville is located in Butler 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 Butler County: Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Clarion, Lawrence, Mercer, Venango & Westmoreland.

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

  • Butler County     (The home county of Downieville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downieville, with the one closest to Downieville listed first.
    • Valencia
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Mars
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Mars is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mars
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,608 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mars <1>
    • Myoma
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Myoma is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myoma
    • Seven Fields
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Seven Fields is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Fields
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,740 people
    • Glade Mills
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Glade Mills is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade Mills
    • Callery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Fox Run
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Fox Run is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Run
    • Watters
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Watters is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watters
    • Ogle
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Ogle is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogle
    • Brownsdale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Brownsdale is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsdale
    • Evans City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Fernway
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Fernway is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernway
  • Allegheny County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downieville, with the one closest to Downieville listed first.
    • Gibsonia
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Wexford
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Bradford Woods
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Bradford Woods is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford Woods
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,135 people
    • Wildwood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Ingomar
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Culmerville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Culmerville is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Culmerville
    • Curtisville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Curtisville is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtisville
    • Allison Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Duff City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Duff City is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duff City
    • Franklin Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Franklin Park is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Park
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,883 people
    • Elfinwild
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Elfinwild is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elfinwild
    • Russellton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Armstrong County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downieville, with the one closest to Downieville listed first.
    • Freeport
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Aladdin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Aladdin is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aladdin
    • Slate Lick
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Slate Lick is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slate Lick
    • Shadyside Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Shadyside Village is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadyside Village
      • Shadyside Village has also been known as:
      • Buffalo Creek
      • Yellow Dog Village
    • Leechburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • McVille
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • McVille is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McVille
    • Worthington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Apollo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • 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>
    • Neale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Neale is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neale
    • West Ford City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • West Ford City is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Ford City
    • Laird Crossing
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Laird Crossing is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laird Crossing
    • Ford Cliff
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Ford Cliff is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ford Cliff
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 347 people
  • Beaver County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downieville, with the one closest to Downieville listed first.
    • Knob
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Knob is located in Beaver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knob
    • Wallace City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Wallace City is located in Beaver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallace City
    • Economy
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Economy is located in Beaver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Economy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,022 people
    • Baden
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Conway
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Ambridge
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • East Rochester
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • East Rochester is located in Beaver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Rochester
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 526 people
    • Freedom
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Barrisville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Barrisville is located in Beaver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrisville
    • Goehring
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Goehring is located in Beaver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goehring
    • Aliquippa
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Monaca
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Clarion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downieville, with the one closest to Downieville listed first.
    • East Brady
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Phillipston
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Phillipston is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillipston
  • Lawrence County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downieville, with the one closest to Downieville listed first.
    • Ellport
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Ellport is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellport
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,102 people
    • Energy
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Energy is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Energy
    • Rose Point
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Rose Point is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Point
    • Wampum
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Grant City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Grant City is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant City
    • New Beaver
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • New Beaver is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Beaver
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,419 people
    • Altman
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Altman is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altman
    • East Moravia
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • East Moravia is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Moravia
    • Harlansburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Harlansburg is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlansburg
    • Enon Valley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • McCaslin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • McCaslin is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCaslin
    • South New Castle
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • South New Castle is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South New Castle
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 659 people
  • Mercer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downieville, with the one closest to Downieville listed first.
    • North Liberty
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • North Liberty is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Liberty
    • Courtneys Mills
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Courtneys Mills is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Courtneys Mills
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downieville, with the one closest to Downieville listed first.
    • MacDonald
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • MacDonald is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for MacDonald
    • McDonald
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Candor
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Candor is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Candor
    • Midway
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Thompsonville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Thompsonville is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompsonville
    • McMurray
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Cokeburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Cokeburg is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cokeburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 603 people
    • Finleyville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Gastonville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Gastonville is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gastonville
    • Canonsburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Burgettstown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Dinsmore
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Dinsmore is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dinsmore
  • Westmoreland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downieville, with the one closest to Downieville listed first.
    • Arnold
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Arnold is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,790 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arnold <1>
    • New Kensington
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Parnassus
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Parnassus is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnassus
    • Lower Burrell
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Bagdad
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Bagdad is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagdad
    • Weinel Crossroads
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Weinel Crossroads is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weinel Crossroads
    • West Leechburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • West Leechburg is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leechburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,211 people
    • Hyde Park
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • East Vandergrift
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • East Vandergrift is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Vandergrift
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 631 people
    • Vandergrift
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Franklin
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Franklin is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
    • Murrysville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
  • Columbiana County (OH)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downieville, with the one closest to Downieville listed first.
    • East End
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • East End is located in Columbiana County (OH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East End
    • State Line ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • State Line is located in Columbiana County (OH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line
    • Calcutta
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • East Liverpool
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • East Palestine
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Hancock County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downieville, with the one closest to Downieville listed first.
    • Lawrenceville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Lawrenceville is located in Hancock County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrenceville
    • Chester
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Chester is located in Hancock County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,313 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chester <1>
    • Fairhaven
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Fairhaven is located in Hancock County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhaven

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

Cemeteries Near Downieville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Downieville.

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

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

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

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>

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

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

  • Valencia
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Mars
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Mars is located in Butler County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mars
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,608 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mars <1>
  • Bakerstown Station
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Bakerstown Station is located in Allegheny County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakerstown Station
  • Gibsonia
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Myoma
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Myoma is located in Butler County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myoma
  • Bakerstown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Wexford
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Callery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Glade Mills
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Glade Mills is located in Butler County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade Mills
  • Ogle
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Ogle is located in Butler County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogle
  • Keown
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Keown is located in Allegheny County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keown
  • Wildwood
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Talley Cavey
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Talley Cavey is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talley Cavey
    • Evans City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Brownsdale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Brownsdale is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsdale

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

Newspapers Published in Downieville ...

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 Downieville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Downieville, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Downieville.

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 Downieville:

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 Downieville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Downieville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.