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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 Drifting (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 Drifting. 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.

Drifting is located in Clearfield 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 Clearfield County: Cameron, Centre, Clinton, Elk, Indiana & Jefferson.

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

  • Clearfield County     (The home county of Drifting)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drifting, with the one closest to Drifting listed first.
    • Kylertown
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Keewaydin
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Keewaydin is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keewaydin
    • Morrisdale
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Shiloh
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Shiloh is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
    • Pottersdale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Pottersdale is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottersdale
    • Wallaceton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Wallaceton is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallaceton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
    • Chester Hill
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Chester Hill is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester Hill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 820 people
    • West Decatur
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • West Decatur is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Decatur
      • West Decatur has also been known as:
      • Blue Ball
      • Decatur
    • Woodland
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Osceola Mills
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Barrett
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Barrett is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrett
    • Ashland
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Ashland is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
    • Clearfield
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Blair County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drifting, with the one closest to Drifting listed first.
    • Tyrone Forge
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Tyrone Forge is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone Forge
    • Tyrone
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Grazierville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Grazierville is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grazierville
    • Tipton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Cambria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drifting, with the one closest to Drifting listed first.
    • Lloydville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Lloydville is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloydville
    • Fallentimber
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Flinton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Cameron County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drifting, with the one closest to Drifting listed first.
    • Wyside
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Wyside is located in Cameron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyside
    • Driftwood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Mix Run
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Mix Run is located in Cameron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mix Run
    • Huntley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Huntley is located in Cameron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntley
    • Cameron
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Cameron is located in Cameron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
  • Centre County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drifting, with the one closest to Drifting listed first.
    • Moshannon
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Moshannon is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshannon
    • Pine Glen
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Pine Glen is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Glen
    • Casanova
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Casanova is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casanova
    • Clarence
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Snow Shoe
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • North Philipsburg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • North Philipsburg is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Philipsburg
    • Pancake
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Pancake is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pancake
    • Poorman Side
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Poorman Side is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poorman Side
    • Philipsburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Glass City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Glass City is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glass City
    • South Philipsburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • South Philipsburg is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Philipsburg
    • Julian
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • New Town
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • New Town is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
  • Clinton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drifting, with the one closest to Drifting listed first.
    • Keating
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Keating is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keating
    • Cooks Run
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Cooks Run is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Run
    • Bitumen
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Bitumen is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bitumen
    • Westport
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Renovo
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Abdera
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Abdera is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abdera
    • South Renovo
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • South Renovo is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Renovo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 422 people
    • Beech Creek
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Hammersley Fork
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Hammersley Fork is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammersley Fork
    • Farwell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Farwell is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farwell
    • Lamar
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • North Bend
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Elk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drifting, with the one closest to Drifting listed first.
    • Grant
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Grant is located in Elk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant
    • Dents Run
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Dents Run is located in Elk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dents Run
    • Benezette
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Caledonia
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Caledonia is located in Elk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caledonia
    • Scattertown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Scattertown is located in Elk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scattertown
    • Byrnedale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Huntingdon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drifting, with the one closest to Drifting listed first.
    • Dungarvin
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Dungarvin is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dungarvin
    • Pennington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Pennington is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
    • Huntingdon Furnace
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Huntingdon Furnace is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntingdon Furnace
    • Seven Stars
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Seven Stars is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
    • Birmingham
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Birmingham is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
    • Neffs Mills
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Neffs Mills is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neffs Mills
    • Ennisville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Ennisville is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ennisville

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

Cemeteries Near Drifting ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Drifting.

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

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

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

  • St. Severin Old Log Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • St. Severins Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Kylertown Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Immanuel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Hunter Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • New Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Old Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Keewaydin Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Askey Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Center Hill Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Emigh Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Agnes Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (144 more) ...
    • Butler Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • St. Michaels Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Congress Hill Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)

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

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

  • Peale
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Peale is located in Clearfield County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peale
  • Kylertown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Winburne
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Winburne is located in Clearfield County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winburne
  • Moshannon
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Moshannon is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshannon
  • Pine Glen
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Pine Glen is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Glen
  • Allport
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Keewaydin
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Keewaydin is located in Clearfield County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keewaydin
  • Gillintown
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Gillintown is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillintown
  • Karthaus
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Belford
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Belford is located in Clearfield County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belford
  • Morrisdale
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Loch Lomond Junction
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Loch Lomond Junction is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loch Lomond Junction
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Snow Shoe
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Clarence
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Frenchville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Frenchville is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchville

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

Newspapers Published in Drifting ...

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 40 newspapers that have been published in the area around Drifting.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Drifting, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Drifting.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Drifting:

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 Drifting, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Drifting) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.