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 Elders Ridge (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 Elders Ridge. 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 Elders Ridge ...
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 occur.
- A typical abbreviation for Elders Ridge: Elders Rdg. (or less commonly used: Elders Rdge. or Elders Ridg.)
- While the name of this community is Elders Ridge, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Elders Ridge may originally have been Elder's Ridge.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Elders Ridge might be written as Elder Ridge.
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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Elders Ridge is located in Indiana 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 Indiana County: Armstrong, Cambria, Clearfield, Jefferson & Westmoreland.
Below are the counties that are near Elders Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Elders Ridge:
- Indiana County (The home county of Elders Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Elders Ridge, with the one closest to Elders Ridge listed first.
- Saltsburg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- West Lebanon
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- West Lebanon is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lebanon
- Clarksburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jacksonville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Jacksonville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
- Parkwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Parkwood is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
- White
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- White is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Aultman
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Aultman is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aultman
- Shelocta
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Bow
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Bow is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow
- Shado-Wood Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Shado-Wood Village is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shado-Wood Village
- Smathers
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Smathers is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smathers
- Ben Avon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Ben Avon is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ben Avon
- Allegheny County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elders Ridge, with the one closest to Elders Ridge listed first.
- Sligo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Sligo is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sligo
- Karns
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Karns is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Karns
- Natrona
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Natrona is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natrona
- Brackenridge
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Plum
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Plum is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum
- Population from the 2020 Census: 26,993 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plum <2>
- Tarentum
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Leechburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Leechburg is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leechburg
- New Texas
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- New Texas is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Texas
- Springdale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Cheswick
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Unity
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Unity is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unity
- Garden City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Garden City is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Armstrong County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elders Ridge, with the one closest to Elders Ridge listed first.
- Olivet
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Olivet is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
- Spring Church
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Edmon
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Edmon is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmon
- Orchard Hills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Orchard Hills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
- Cochrans Mills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Cochrans Mills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrans Mills
- North Apollo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Apollo
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Elderton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Tunnelville ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Tunnelville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnelville
- Whitesburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Whitesburg is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesburg
- Leechburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Neale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Neale is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neale
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elders Ridge, with the one closest to Elders Ridge listed first.
- Monroe
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Monroe is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
- Leasureville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Leasureville is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leasureville
- Ekastown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ekastown is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ekastown
- Dennys Mills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Dennys Mills is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennys Mills
- Saxonburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Fenelton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Frazier Mill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Frazier Mill is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazier Mill
- Great Belt
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Great Belt is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Belt
- Herman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Joe
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Joe is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Joe
- Glade Mills
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Glade Mills is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade Mills
- Cambria County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elders Ridge, with the one closest to Elders Ridge listed first.
- Vintondale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Vintondale is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vintondale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 367 people
- Wilmore
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- White Mill Crossing
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- White Mill Crossing is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Mill Crossing
- Belsano
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Belsano is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belsano
- Twin Rocks
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Brownstown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cambria City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cambria City is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambria City
- Westmont
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Westmont is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westmont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,625 people
- Cardiff
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Cardiff is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardiff
- Elim
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Elim is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elim
- Johnstown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lilly
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lilly is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilly
- Population from the 2020 Census: 873 people
- Clarion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elders Ridge, with the one closest to Elders Ridge listed first.
- Lawsonham
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Lawsonham is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonham
- New Bethlehem
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Phillipston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Phillipston is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillipston
- East Brady
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Fairmont City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Fayette County
- Laurelville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Laurelville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelville
- Jefferson County
- Valier
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Valier is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valier
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Elders Ridge, with the one closest to Elders Ridge listed first.
- Avonmore
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Salina
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Livermore
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Livermore is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livermore
- East Vandergrift
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- East Vandergrift is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Vandergrift
- Population from the 2020 Census: 631 people
- Oklahoma
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Oklahoma is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oklahoma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 739 people
- Vandergrift
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Nihil
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Nihil is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nihil
- Slickville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Slickville is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slickville
- Hyde Park
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- North Washington
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- North Washington is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Washington
- Weinel Crossroads
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Weinel Crossroads is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weinel Crossroads
- West Leechburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- West Leechburg is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leechburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,211 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Elders Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for Elders Ridge.
Cemeteries Near Elders Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Elders Ridge.
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 Elders Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Elders Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Elders Ridge, with the one closest to Elders Ridge listed first.
- Olivet Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Union Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Maysville Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- West Lebanon Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- South Bend Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Beulah Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Townsend Family Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Townsend Family Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Townsend Family Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<4> to the north of Edmon.
- The Townsend Family Cemetery has also been known as:
- Townsend Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #46481 <3>
- West View Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Conemaugh Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Fairview Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Cemetery
- The Fairview Cemetery has also been known as:
- Boiling Springs Presbyterian Cemetery
- Spring Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1985924 <3>
- Spring Church Joint Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Spring Church Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (299 more) ...
- Edgewood Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- McDonalds Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Shellhammer - Beck Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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.<5>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Elders Ridge had a population of 50 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Elders Ridge, with the one closest to Elders Ridge listed first.
- Olivet
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Olivet is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
- Saltsburg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Nowrytown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Nowrytown is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nowrytown
- Clarksburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Shady Plain
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Shady Plain is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Plain
- Avonmore
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- South Bend
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- South Bend is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bend
- Spring Church
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Girty
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Girty is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girty
- Salina
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- White
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- White is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Parkwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Parkwood is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Tunnelton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Tunnelton is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnelton
- Cochrans Mills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Cochrans Mills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrans Mills
- Brick Church
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Brick Church is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brick Church
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Elders Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Elders Ridge.
Newspapers Published in Elders Ridge ...
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 Elders Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Elders Ridge, 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 Elders Ridge.
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 Elders Ridge:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Indiana County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegheny County
- Armstrong County
- Butler County
- Cambria County
- Clarion County
- Fayette County
- Jefferson County
- Westmoreland County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Pennsylvania
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <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 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. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Elders Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Elders Ridge, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |