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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 Driftwood (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 Driftwood. 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.

Driftwood is located in Cameron 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 Cameron County: Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, McKean & Potter.

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

  • Cameron County     (The home county of Driftwood)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Driftwood, with the one closest to Driftwood listed first.
    • Huntley
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Wyside
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wyside. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyside
      • Wyside is located in Cameron County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wyside
      • From Driftwood to Wyside
    • Cameron
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Emporium
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emporium have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emporium
      • Emporium is located in Cameron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,770 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Emporium <3>
    • Weber City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weber City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weber City
      • Weber City is located in Cameron County
    • Beechwood
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Beechwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechwood
      • Beechwood is located in Cameron County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Beechwood
      • From Driftwood to Beechwood
  • Centre County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Driftwood, with the one closest to Driftwood listed first.
    • Pine Glen
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Glen have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Glen
      • Pine Glen is located in Centre County
    • Poorman Side
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Moshannon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Clarence
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarence have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarence
      • Clarence is located in Centre County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clarence <3>
    • Pancake
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pancake. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pancake
      • Pancake is located in Centre County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pancake
      • From Driftwood to Pancake
    • Snow Shoe
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Snow Shoe have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Shoe
      • Snow Shoe is located in Centre County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 758 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Snow Shoe <3>
    • Casanova
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Monument
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monument have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monument
      • Monument is located in Centre County
    • North Philipsburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Philipsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Philipsburg
      • North Philipsburg is located in Centre County
    • Philipsburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Philipsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philipsburg
      • Philipsburg is located in Centre County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,678 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Philipsburg <3>
    • Romola
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Romola. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romola
      • Romola is located in Centre County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Romola
      • From Driftwood to Romola
  • Clearfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Driftwood, with the one closest to Driftwood listed first.
    • Pottersdale
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Tyler
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tyler. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyler
      • Tyler is located in Clearfield County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tyler
      • From Driftwood to Tyler
    • Shiloh
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Shiloh. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
      • Shiloh is located in Clearfield County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Shiloh
      • From Driftwood to Shiloh
    • Kylertown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Mount Joy
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mount Joy. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Joy
      • Mount Joy is located in Clearfield County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mount Joy
      • From Driftwood to Mount Joy
    • Plymptonville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plymptonville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plymptonville
      • Plymptonville is located in Clearfield County
    • Barrett
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Barrett. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrett
      • Barrett is located in Clearfield County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Barrett
      • From Driftwood to Barrett
    • Clearfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Winterburn
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Woodland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Morrisdale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Wallaceton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Hyde
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hyde have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyde
      • Hyde is located in Clearfield County
  • Clinton County
  • Elk County
  • McKean County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Driftwood, with the one closest to Driftwood listed first.
    • Gardeau
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Clermont
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Clermont. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clermont
      • Clermont is located in McKean County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Clermont
      • From Driftwood to Clermont
    • Crosby
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Potter County

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

Cemeteries Near Driftwood ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Driftwood.

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 Driftwood covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Miller Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Miller Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Miller Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Grove Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grove Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grove Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wyle Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wyle Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wyle Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mix Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mix Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mix Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pine St. Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pine St. Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pine St. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mason Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mason Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mason Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hicks Run Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hicks Run Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hicks Run Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Smith Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Gilmore Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gilmore Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gilmore Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Nelson Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nelson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nelson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Johnson Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Johnson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Johnson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ganoe Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ganoe Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ganoe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (75 more) ...
    • St. Marks Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marks Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Summerson Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Summerson Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Summerson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • The Summerson Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Valentine Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #46434 <4>
    • McCoy Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McCoy Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McCoy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #45377 <4>

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Driftwood had a population of 628 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Driftwood had a population of 57 people.

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

  • Huntley
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Wyside
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wyside. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyside
    • Wyside is located in Cameron County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Wyside
    • From Driftwood to Wyside
  • Mix Run
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mix Run have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mix Run
    • Mix Run is located in Cameron County
  • Sterling Run
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sterling Run have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling Run
    • Sterling Run is located in Cameron County
  • Dents Run
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dents Run. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dents Run
    • Dents Run is located in Elk County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Dents Run
    • From Driftwood to Dents Run
  • Cameron
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Grant
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Grant. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant
    • Grant is located in Elk County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Grant
    • From Driftwood to Grant
  • First Fork
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for First Fork have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for First Fork
    • First Fork is located in Cameron County
  • Pottersdale
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Hammersley Fork
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Keating
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Keating. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keating
    • Keating is located in Clinton County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Keating
    • From Driftwood to Keating
  • Cooks Run
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cooks Run. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Run
    • Cooks Run is located in Clinton County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Cooks Run
    • From Driftwood to Cooks Run
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Driftwood ...

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 35 newspapers that have been published in the area around Driftwood.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Driftwood. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Driftwood and those printed in the larger area surrounding Driftwood.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<6> of Driftwood.

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 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 Driftwood:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Driftwood. 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>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>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 Driftwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 from Point A (ie- Driftwood) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Driftwood. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.3396, Longitude: -78.1344    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025