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 Five Forks (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 Five Forks. 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 Five Forks ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Five Forks: Five Frks.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Five Forks. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Five Forks.
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 northwest 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 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.
Five Forks is located in Fayette 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 Fayette County: Garrett (MD), Greene, Somerset, Washington, Westmoreland, Monongalia (WV) & Preston (WV).
Below are the counties that are near Five Forks. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Five Forks:
- Fayette County (The home county of Five Forks)
- The following are listed by their distance from Five Forks, with the one closest to Five Forks listed first.
- Markleysburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Farmington
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Elliottsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Elliottsville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliottsville
- Mount Washington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Mount Washington is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Washington
- Ohiopyle
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Haydentown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Haydentown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haydentown
- Hopwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Hutchinson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Hutchinson is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutchinson
- East Uniontown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- East Uniontown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Uniontown
- Evans
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Evans is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
- Leith
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Leith is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leith
- Lemont Furnace
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Smithfield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Five Forks, with the one closest to Five Forks listed first.
- Dilliner
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Dilliner is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dilliner
- Greensboro
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Nemacolin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Nemacolin is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nemacolin
- Dunkard
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Dunkard is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunkard
- Ceylon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Ceylon is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceylon
- Stringtown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Stringtown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Carmichaels
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cumberland Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cumberland Village is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
- Fairdale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Fairdale is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
- Mount Morris
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Khedive
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Khedive is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Khedive
- Rices Landing
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fordyce
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Fordyce is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fordyce
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Five Forks, with the one closest to Five Forks listed first.
- Ursina
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Ursina is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ursina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
- Addison
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Confluence
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Listonburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Listonburg is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Listonburg
- Draketown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Draketown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draketown
- Markleton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Casselman
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Casselman is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casselman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- New Lexington
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- New Lexington is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lexington
- Coal Run
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Coal Run is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Run
- Salisbury
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- West Salisbury
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- West Salisbury is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Salisbury
- New Centerville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- New Centerville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Centerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
- Rockwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Five Forks, with the one closest to Five Forks listed first.
- Blainsburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Blainsburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blainsburg
- West Brownsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- West Brownsville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brownsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
- California
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Allenport
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Coal Center
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Daisytown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Fredericktown - Millsboro
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Millsboro
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Speers
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Speers is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speers
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,061 people
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Five Forks, with the one closest to Five Forks listed first.
- Scottdale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Hawkeye
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Hawkeye is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkeye
- Iron Bridge
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Iron Bridge is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Bridge
- West Overton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- West Overton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Overton
- Alverton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Alverton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alverton
- Donegal
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Mount Joy
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Mount Joy is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Joy
- Mount Pleasant
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Allegany County (MD)
- Luke
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Luke is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luke
- Population from the 2020 Census: 60 people
- Garrett County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Five Forks, with the one closest to Five Forks listed first.
- Friendsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Accident
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- McHenry
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bittinger
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Grantsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Hutton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Hutton is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutton
- Oakland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Oakland is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,803 people
- Deer Park
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain Lake Park
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain Lake Park is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Lake Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,065 people
- Altamont
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Altamont is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
- Loch Lynn Heights
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Loch Lynn Heights is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loch Lynn Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 525 people
- Swanton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Avilton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Avilton is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avilton
- Mineral County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Five Forks, with the one closest to Five Forks listed first.
- Harrison
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Harrison is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Schell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Schell is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schell
- Shaw
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Shaw is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw
- Windom ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Windom is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
- Monongalia County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Five Forks, with the one closest to Five Forks listed first.
- Cheat Lake
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Cheat Lake is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheat Lake
- Canyon
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Canyon is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon
- Brookhaven
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Brookhaven is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookhaven
- Baker Ridge
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Baker Ridge is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker Ridge
- Morgantown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Star City
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Star City is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,984 people
- Westover
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Bowlby
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Bowlby is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowlby
- Granville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Granville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,156 people
- Maidsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Maidsville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maidsville
- Osage
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Osage is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osage
- Laurel Point
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Laurel Point is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Point
- Little Falls
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Little Falls is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Falls
- Preston County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Five Forks, with the one closest to Five Forks listed first.
- Hazelton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Clifton Mills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Clifton Mills is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton Mills
- Brandonville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Brandonville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
- Bruceton Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Morgans Glade
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Morgans Glade is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgans Glade
- Little Sandy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Little Sandy is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Sandy
- Lenox
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Lenox is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenox
- Rockville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rockville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
- Orr
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Orr is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orr
- Albright
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Masontown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Kingwood
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Reedsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Five Forks, see our County-by-County Page for Five Forks.
Cemeteries Near Five Forks ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Five Forks.
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 Five Forks - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Five Forks covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Five Forks, with the one closest to Five Forks listed first.
- Teets Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Pleasant Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Shady Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Webb Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Thomas Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Van Sickle Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sansom Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Sand Spring Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Asher Glade Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Thomas Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Workman Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Visitation Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (318 more) ...
- Mt. Washington Presbyterian Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Savage Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Brown 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.<3>
While we didn't find Five Forks in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Five Forks.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Five Forks, with the one closest to Five Forks listed first.
- Glade Farms
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Glade Farms is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade Farms
- Gibbon Glade
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Gibbon Glade is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibbon Glade
- Clifton Mills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Clifton Mills is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton Mills
- Brandonville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Brandonville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
- Markleysburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Elliottsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Elliottsville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliottsville
- Farmington
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Bruceton Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Morgans Glade
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Morgans Glade is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgans Glade
- Cuzzart
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Cuzzart is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuzzart
- Friendsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Somerfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Somerfield is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerfield
- Continue List (20 more) ...
- Selbysport
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Selbysport is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selbysport
- Rockville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rockville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
- Valley Point
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Valley Point is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Point
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Five Forks. See our List of 1890's Communities around Five Forks.
Newspapers Published in Five Forks ...
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 37 newspapers that have been published in the area around Five Forks.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Five Forks, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Five Forks.
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 either 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 Five Forks:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Fayette County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Greene County
- Somerset County
- Washington County
- Westmoreland County
- Allegany County
- Garrett County
- Mineral County
- Monongalia County
- Preston County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Pennsylvania
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 Five Forks, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Five Forks) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |