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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 Drums (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 Drums. 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 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 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.

Drums is located in Luzerne 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 Luzerne County: Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Monroe, Schuylkill, Sullivan & Wyoming.

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

  • Luzerne County     (The home county of Drums)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drums, with the one closest to Drums listed first.
    • Harleigh
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Ebervale
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Ebervale is located in Luzerne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebervale
    • Conyngham
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Hazleton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • West Hazleton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • West Hazleton is located in Luzerne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hazleton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,318 people
    • Sybertsville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Freeland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Highlands
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Highlands is located in Luzerne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highlands
    • Jeddo
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Jeddo is located in Luzerne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeddo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
    • Harwood
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Harwood is located in Luzerne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harwood
    • Dorrance
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Dorrance is located in Luzerne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorrance
    • Tomhicken
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Tomhicken is located in Luzerne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomhicken
  • Berks County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drums, with the one closest to Drums listed first.
    • Quaker City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Quaker City is located in Berks County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker City
    • Stony Run
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Stony Run is located in Berks County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Run
  • Carbon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drums, with the one closest to Drums listed first.
    • Coxes Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Coxes Village is located in Carbon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coxes Village
      • Coxes Village has also been known as:
      • Cross Village
    • Tresckow
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Tresckow is located in Carbon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tresckow
    • Beaver Meadows
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Hudsondale
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Hudsondale is located in Carbon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudsondale
    • Weatherly
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Leslie Run
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Leslie Run is located in Carbon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leslie Run
    • Penn Haven Junction
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Penn Haven Junction is located in Carbon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penn Haven Junction
    • Mud Run
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Mud Run is located in Carbon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mud Run
    • Lansford
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Nesquehoning
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Summit Hill
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • East Side
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • East Side is located in Carbon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Side
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 301 people
  • Columbia County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drums, with the one closest to Drums listed first.
    • Berwick
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Foundryville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Foundryville is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foundryville
    • Hetlerville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Hetlerville is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hetlerville
    • Briar Creek
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Briar Creek is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briar Creek
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 672 people
    • Mifflinville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Shumans
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Shumans is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shumans
    • Jonestown
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jonestown is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonestown
    • Lime Ridge
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Lime Ridge is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime Ridge
    • Mainville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Mainville is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mainville
    • Almedia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Almedia is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almedia
    • Zaner
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Zaner is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zaner
    • Espy
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Espy is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Espy
  • Lackawanna County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drums, with the one closest to Drums listed first.
    • Lawrenceville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Lawrenceville is located in Lackawanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrenceville
    • Belian Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Belian Village is located in Lackawanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belian Village
    • Old Forge
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Moosic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Moosic is located in Lackawanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moosic
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,813 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moosic <1>
    • Spring Brook
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Spring Brook is located in Lackawanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Brook
    • Minooka
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Minooka is located in Lackawanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minooka
    • Taylor
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Taylor is located in Lackawanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,879 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Taylor <1>
    • Yostville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Yostville is located in Lackawanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yostville
    • Milwaukee
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Milwaukee is located in Lackawanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milwaukee
  • Lehigh County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drums, with the one closest to Drums listed first.
    • Jacksonville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Jacksonville is located in Lehigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
    • Lochland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Lochland is located in Lehigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lochland
    • Slatedale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Slatedale is located in Lehigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slatedale
    • Custer
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Custer is located in Lehigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Custer
    • Emerald
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Emerald is located in Lehigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald
    • Friedens
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Friedens is located in Lehigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friedens
    • Slatington
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Newside
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Newside is located in Lehigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newside
    • Stines Corner
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Stines Corner is located in Lehigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stines Corner
    • Rising Sun
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Rising Sun is located in Lehigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Sun
    • Rockdale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Rockdale is located in Lehigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
  • Lycoming County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drums, with the one closest to Drums listed first.
    • Richarts Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Richarts Grove is located in Lycoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richarts Grove
    • Unityville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Monroe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drums, with the one closest to Drums listed first.
    • Locust Lakes Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Locust Lakes Village is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Lakes Village
    • Kresgeville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Long Pond
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Pocono Pines
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Gilbert
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Northampton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drums, with the one closest to Drums listed first.
    • Berlinsville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Berlinsville is located in Northampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlinsville
    • Danielsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Walnutport
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Cherryville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Lockport
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Lockport is located in Northampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockport
    • Arndts
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Arndts is located in Northampton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arndts
  • Northumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drums, with the one closest to Drums listed first.
    • Mount Carmel
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Dooleyville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Dooleyville is located in Northumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dooleyville
    • Alaska
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Alaska is located in Northumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alaska
    • Locust Gap
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Locust Gap is located in Northumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Gap
    • Natalie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Natalie is located in Northumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natalie
    • Bear Gap
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Bear Gap is located in Northumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Gap
    • Elysburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Schuylkill County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drums, with the one closest to Drums listed first.
    • Kelayres
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Kelayres is located in Schuylkill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelayres
    • McAdoo
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • McAdoo is located in Schuylkill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McAdoo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,147 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McAdoo <1>
    • Lofty
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Lofty is located in Schuylkill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lofty
    • Nuremberg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Oneida
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Oneida is located in Schuylkill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oneida
    • Sheppton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Girard Manor
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Girard Manor is located in Schuylkill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girard Manor
    • Delano
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Delano is located in Schuylkill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delano
    • Grier City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Grier City is located in Schuylkill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grier City
    • Hometown
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Hometown is located in Schuylkill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hometown
    • Zion Grove
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Brandonville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Brandonville is located in Schuylkill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandonville
  • Wyoming County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drums, with the one closest to Drums listed first.
    • Mill City ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Mill City is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill City
    • Beaumont
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Beaumont is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaumont
    • Noxen
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Vernon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Vernon is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
    • Evans Falls
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Evans Falls is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans Falls

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

Cemeteries Near Drums ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Drums.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Drums, with the one closest to Drums 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 Drums had a population of 496 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Saint Johns
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Milnesville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Milnesville is located in Luzerne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milnesville
  • Harleigh
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Conyngham
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Ebervale
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Ebervale is located in Luzerne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebervale
  • Sybertsville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • West Hazleton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • West Hazleton is located in Luzerne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hazleton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,318 people
  • Cranberry
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Cranberry is located in Luzerne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranberry
  • Oakdale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Oakdale is located in Luzerne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale
  • Drifton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Drifton is located in Luzerne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drifton
  • Upper Lehigh
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Upper Lehigh is located in Luzerne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Lehigh
  • Jeddo
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jeddo is located in Luzerne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeddo
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Freeland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Hobbie
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Hobbie is located in Luzerne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobbie
    • Tomhicken
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Tomhicken is located in Luzerne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomhicken

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

Newspapers Published in Drums ...

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 Drums.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Drums, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Drums.

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 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 Drums:

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 Drums, 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 from Point A (ie- Drums) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.