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 Forks Church (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 Forks Church. 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 Forks Church ...
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.
While the name of this community is Forks Church, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Forks Church may originally have been Fork's Church.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Forks Church might be written as Fork Church.
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.
Forks Church is located in Armstrong 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 Armstrong County: Allegheny, Butler, Clarion, Indiana, Jefferson & Westmoreland.
Below are the counties that are near Forks Church. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Forks Church:
- Armstrong County (The home county of Forks Church)
- The following are listed by their distance from Forks Church, with the one closest to Forks Church listed first.
- Neale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Neale is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neale
- McVille
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- McVille is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McVille
- Leechburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Aladdin
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Aladdin is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aladdin
- Freeport
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Rosston
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Rosston is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosston
- Tunnelville ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Tunnelville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnelville
- Slate Lick
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Slate Lick is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slate Lick
- Ford Cliff
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ford Cliff is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ford Cliff
- Population from the 2020 Census: 347 people
- Apollo
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- North Apollo
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Orchard Hills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Orchard Hills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
- Allegheny County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forks Church, with the one closest to Forks Church listed first.
- Sligo
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Sligo is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sligo
- Karns
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Karns is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Karns
- Natrona
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Natrona is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natrona
- Brackenridge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Tarentum
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Culmerville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Culmerville is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Culmerville
- Harwick
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Harwick is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harwick
- Rural Ridge
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Springdale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Curtisville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Curtisville is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtisville
- Russellton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Cheswick
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forks Church, with the one closest to Forks Church listed first.
- Monroe
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Monroe is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
- Leasureville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Leasureville is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leasureville
- Ekastown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Ekastown is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ekastown
- Dennys Mills
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dennys Mills is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennys Mills
- Saxonburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Great Belt
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Great Belt is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Belt
- Frazier Mill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Frazier Mill is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazier Mill
- Fenelton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Herman
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Glade Mills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Glade Mills is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade Mills
- Saint Joe
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Joe is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Joe
- East Butler
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Clarion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forks Church, with the one closest to Forks Church listed first.
- Phillipston
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Phillipston is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillipston
- East Brady
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Catfish
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Catfish is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catfish
- Lawsonham
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Lawsonham is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonham
- Bela
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Bela is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bela
- Rimersburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Leatherwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Leatherwood is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherwood
- New Bethlehem
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Fairmont City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Piolett
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Piolett is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piolett
- Toby
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Toby is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toby
- Hawthorn
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forks Church, with the one closest to Forks Church listed first.
- West Lebanon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- West Lebanon is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lebanon
- Clarksburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Saltsburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Parkwood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Parkwood is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
- Shelocta
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- White
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- White is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Jacksonville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Jacksonville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
- Aultman
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Aultman is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aultman
- Bow
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bow is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow
- Willet
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Willet is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willet
- Beyer
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Beyer is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beyer
- Creekside
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Creekside is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creekside
- Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forks Church, with the one closest to Forks Church listed first.
- Hyde Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- West Leechburg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- West Leechburg is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leechburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,211 people
- Bagdad
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bagdad is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagdad
- Weinel Crossroads
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Weinel Crossroads is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weinel Crossroads
- East Vandergrift
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- East Vandergrift is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Vandergrift
- Population from the 2020 Census: 631 people
- Vandergrift
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Oklahoma
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Oklahoma is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oklahoma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 739 people
- North Washington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- North Washington is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Washington
- Lower Burrell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Arnold
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- New Kensington
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Parnassus
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Parnassus is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnassus
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Forks Church, see our County-by-County Page for Forks Church.
Cemeteries Near Forks Church ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Forks Church.
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 Forks Church - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Forks Church covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Forks Church, with the one closest to Forks Church listed first.
- Forks - Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forks - Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Forks - Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the north of Leechburg.
- The Forks - Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Forks - Zion Lutheran Evangelical Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #629382 <4>
- Evergreen Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- St. Catherine Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- St. Catherines Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Murphys Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Leechburg Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Brookland Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Keppel Burial Ground
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Laurel Point Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Highfield Lutheran Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Porter Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Continue List (333 more) ...
- Oakland Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Freeport Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Freeport Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of Freeport.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #44888 <4>
- St. Marys Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
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>
While we didn't find Forks Church in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Forks Church.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Forks Church, with the one closest to Forks Church listed first.
- Neale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Neale is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neale
- Bagdad
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bagdad is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagdad
- Leechburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Dime
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Dime is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dime
- Aladdin
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Aladdin is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aladdin
- McVille
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- McVille is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McVille
- Freeport
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Sligo
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Sligo is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sligo
- Vandergrift
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Tunnelville ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Tunnelville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnelville
- Rosston
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Rosston is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosston
- Garvers Ferry
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Garvers Ferry is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garvers Ferry
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Karns
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Karns is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Karns
- Metcalf
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Metcalf is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metcalf
- Apollo
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Forks Church. See our List of 1890's Communities around Forks Church.
Newspapers Published in Forks Church ...
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 30 newspapers that have been published in the area around Forks Church.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Forks Church, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Forks Church.
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 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 Forks Church:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Armstrong County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegheny County
- Butler County
- Clarion County
- Indiana 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Forks Church) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Forks Church, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |