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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 Duke Center (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 Duke Center. 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.

Name Variations for Duke Center ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Duke Center: Duke Ctr. (or less commonly used: Duke Cen., Duke Cent. or Duke Cntr.)

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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.

Duke Center is located in McKean 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 McKean County: Allegany (NY), Cattaraugus (NY), Cameron, Elk, Forest, Potter & Warren.

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

  • McKean County     (The home county of Duke Center)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Duke Center, with the one closest to Duke Center listed first.
    • Rixford
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Summit
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Dallas City
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Eldred
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Wrights Corners
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Rew
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Derrick City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Sawyer City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sawyer City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawyer City
      • Sawyer City is located in McKean County
    • Allen
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Allen have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen
      • Allen is located in McKean County
    • Aiken
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Aiken. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aiken
      • Aiken is located in McKean County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Aiken
      • From Duke Center to Aiken
    • Foster Brook
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Tuna
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tuna. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuna
      • Tuna is located in McKean County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tuna
      • From Duke Center to Tuna
  • Elk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Duke Center, with the one closest to Duke Center listed first.
    • Instanter
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Instanter have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Instanter
      • Instanter is located in Elk County
    • Streights
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Streights. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Streights
      • Streights is located in Elk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Streights
      • From Duke Center to Streights
    • Wilcox
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • James City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for James City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James City
      • James City is located in Elk County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for James City <2>
    • Windy City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Windy City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windy City
      • Windy City is located in Elk County
  • Potter County
  • Warren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Duke Center, with the one closest to Duke Center listed first.
    • Kinzua ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Big Bend
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Big Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bend
      • Big Bend is located in Warren County
    • Roystone
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Roystone. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roystone
      • Roystone is located in Warren County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Roystone
      • From Duke Center to Roystone
    • Hemlock
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Allegany County (NY)
  • Cattaraugus County (NY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Duke Center, with the one closest to Duke Center listed first.
    • Four Mile
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Four Mile. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Mile
      • Four Mile is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Four Mile
      • From Duke Center to Four Mile
    • Rock City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
      • Rock City is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
    • Saint Bonaventure
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Bonaventure have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Bonaventure
      • Saint Bonaventure is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Bonaventure <2>
    • Chipmunk
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chipmunk. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chipmunk
      • Chipmunk is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Chipmunk
      • From Duke Center to Chipmunk
    • Allegany
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Allegany have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allegany
      • Allegany is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,685 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Allegany <2>
    • Olean
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Portville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Portville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portville
      • Portville is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 941 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Portville <2>
    • Weston Mills
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Limestone
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • New Ireland ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for New Ireland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Ireland
      • New Ireland is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
      • New Ireland has also been known as:
      • Irish Town
      • Little Ireland
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to New Ireland
      • From Duke Center to New Ireland
    • Carrollton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Carrollton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrollton
      • Carrollton is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Carrollton
      • From Duke Center to Carrollton
    • Humphrey
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Duke Center ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Duke Center.

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

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

  • Rixford Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rixford Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rixford Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Moody Hollow Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Moody Hollow Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Moody Hollow Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lamphier Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lamphier Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lamphier Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Smith Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • 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.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. View Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. View Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Patricks Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Bonaventure Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • East Portville Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East Portville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the East Portville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Chestnut Hill Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Allegany Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (128 more) ...
    • Limestone Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Limestone Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Limestone Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • St. Bernards Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Bernards Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Bernards Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Rose Hill Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rose Hill Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rose Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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 Duke Center had a population of 924 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Summit
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Rixford
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Prentisvale
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prentisvale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prentisvale
    • Prentisvale is located in McKean County
  • Dallas City
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Red Rock
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Rock
    • Red Rock is located in McKean County
  • Rew
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Coleville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coleville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleville
    • Coleville is located in McKean County
  • Eldred
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Haymaker
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Haymaker have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haymaker
    • Haymaker is located in McKean County
  • Four Mile
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Four Mile. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Mile
    • Four Mile is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Four Mile
    • From Duke Center to Four Mile
  • Bells Camp
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bells Camp have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bells Camp
    • Bells Camp is located in McKean County
  • Derrick City
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (22 more) ...
    • Gilmore
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gilmore have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore
      • Gilmore is located in McKean County
    • Sawyer City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sawyer City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawyer City
      • Sawyer City is located in McKean County
    • Farmers Valley
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farmers Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmers Valley
      • Farmers Valley is located in McKean County

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

Newspapers Published in Duke Center ...

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 114 newspapers that have been published in the area around Duke Center.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Duke Center, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Duke Center.

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 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 Duke Center:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Duke Center. 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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<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 Duke Center, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Duke Center) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Duke Center. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.9534, Longitude: -78.4811    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025