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 Flat Rock (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 Flat Rock. 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 Flat Rock ...
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.
Another variation: Flatrock.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Flat Rock. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Flat Rock.
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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Flat Rock is located in Centre 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 Centre County: Blair, Cambria, Clearfield, Clinton, Huntingdon, Mifflin & Union.
Below are the counties that are near Flat Rock. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Flat Rock:
- Centre County (The home county of Flat Rock)
- The following are listed by their distance from Flat Rock, with the one closest to Flat Rock listed first.
- Port Matilda
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Stormstown
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Stormstown is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stormstown
- Glass City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Glass City is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glass City
- Sandy Ridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Sandy Ridge is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Ridge
- North Philipsburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- North Philipsburg is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Philipsburg
- Philipsburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- South Philipsburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- South Philipsburg is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Philipsburg
- Marengo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Marengo is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marengo
- Scotia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Scotia is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotia
- Waddle
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Waddle is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waddle
- New Town
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- New Town is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Julian
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Casanova
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Casanova is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casanova
- Blair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Flat Rock, with the one closest to Flat Rock listed first.
- Tyrone Forge
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Tyrone Forge is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone Forge
- Tyrone
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Grazierville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Grazierville is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grazierville
- Tipton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Culp
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Culp is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Culp
- Bellwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Covedale
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Covedale is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covedale
- Point View
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Point View is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point View
- Springfield Junction
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Highland Fling
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Highland Fling is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Fling
- Flowing Spring
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Flowing Spring is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flowing Spring
- Franklin Forge
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Franklin Forge is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Forge
- Williamsburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Cambria County
- The following are listed by their distance from Flat Rock, with the one closest to Flat Rock listed first.
- Lloydville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Lloydville is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloydville
- Fallentimber
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Flinton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Dean
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Dean is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dean
- Dysart
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Dysart is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dysart
- Buckhorn
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Buckhorn is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckhorn
- Ashville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Amsbry
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Amsbry is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amsbry
- Clearfield County
- The following are listed by their distance from Flat Rock, with the one closest to Flat Rock listed first.
- Chester Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Chester Hill is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 820 people
- Osceola Mills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Morrisdale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- West Decatur
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- West Decatur is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Decatur
- West Decatur has also been known as:
- Blue Ball
- Decatur
- Kylertown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Ashland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Ashland is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Parsonsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Parsonsville is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsonsville
- Wallaceton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Wallaceton is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallaceton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
- Brisbin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Brisbin is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brisbin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 385 people
- Ginter
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Ginter is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ginter
- Houtzdale
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Ramey
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Ramey is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 425 people
- Sanborn
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Sanborn is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanborn
- Huntingdon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Flat Rock, with the one closest to Flat Rock listed first.
- Dungarvin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Dungarvin is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dungarvin
- Pennington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Pennington is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
- Huntingdon Furnace
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Huntingdon Furnace is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntingdon Furnace
- Seven Stars
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Seven Stars is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
- Birmingham
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Birmingham is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
- Neffs Mills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Neffs Mills is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neffs Mills
- Petersburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Water Street
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Water Street is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Street
- Alexandria
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Ennisville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Ennisville is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ennisville
- Donation
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Donation is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donation
- Huntingdon
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- McConnellstown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- McConnellstown is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McConnellstown
- Mifflin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Flat Rock, with the one closest to Flat Rock listed first.
- Menno
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Menno is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menno
- Allensville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Belleville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Kishacoquillas
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Kishacoquillas is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kishacoquillas
- Milroy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Reedsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Lumber City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Lumber City is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumber City
- Atkinson Mills
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Atkinson Mills is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkinson Mills
- McVeytown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Honey Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Honey Creek is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
- Mattawana
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mattawana is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattawana
- Yeagertown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Flat Rock, see our County-by-County Page for Flat Rock.
Cemeteries Near Flat Rock ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Flat Rock.
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 Flat Rock - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Flat Rock covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Flat Rock, with the one closest to Flat Rock listed first.
- Brown Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Butler Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Friends Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Spittler Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Ross Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Grays Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Williams Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Henderson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Philipsburg Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Spring Mount Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Nearhoff Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Rumberger Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Continue List (221 more) ...
- Beck Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Warriors Mark Baptist Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Funk Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
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.<4>
While we didn't find Flat Rock in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Flat Rock.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Flat Rock, with the one closest to Flat Rock listed first.
- Port Matilda
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hannah
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Hannah is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hannah
- Stormstown
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Stormstown is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stormstown
- Sandy Ridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Sandy Ridge is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Ridge
- Marengo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Marengo is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marengo
- Gatesburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Gatesburg is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gatesburg
- Buffalo Run
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Buffalo Run is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Run
- Loch Lomond Junction
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Loch Lomond Junction is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loch Lomond Junction
- Warriors Mark
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Dungarvin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Dungarvin is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dungarvin
- Waddle
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Waddle is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waddle
- Gearhartville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Gearhartville is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gearhartville
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Victor
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Victor is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victor
- Osceola Mills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Winburne
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Winburne is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winburne
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Flat Rock. See our List of 1890's Communities around Flat Rock.
Newspapers Published in Flat Rock ...
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 31 newspapers that have been published in the area around Flat Rock.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Flat Rock, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Flat Rock.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Flat Rock:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Centre County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blair County
- Cambria County
- Clearfield County
- Huntingdon County
- Mifflin 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> | 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- Flat Rock) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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> | 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 Flat Rock, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |