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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 Franklin 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 Franklin 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 Franklin 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 Franklin Center: Franklin Ctr. (or less commonly used: Franklin Cen., Franklin Cent. or Franklin 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 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 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.

Franklin Center is located in Erie 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 Erie County: Chautauqua (NY), Ashtabula (OH), Crawford (OH) & Warren (OH).

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

  • Erie County     (The home county of Franklin Center)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Franklin Center, with the one closest to Franklin Center listed first.
    • Francis
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Francis. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Francis
      • Francis is located in Erie County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Francis
      • From Franklin Center to Francis
    • Little Elk
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • McKean
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McKean have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKean
      • McKean is located in Erie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 366 people
      • McKean has also been known as:
      • Middleboro
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McKean <3>
    • Platea
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Platea have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platea
      • Platea is located in Erie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 397 people
    • Borough of Fairview
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Borough of Fairview have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borough of Fairview
      • Borough of Fairview is located in Erie County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Borough of Fairview <3>
    • Girard
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Girard have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girard
      • Girard is located in Erie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,897 people
    • Edinboro
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edinboro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edinboro
      • Edinboro is located in Erie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,405 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edinboro <3>
    • Cranesville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cranesville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranesville
      • Cranesville is located in Erie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 594 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cranesville <3>
    • Avonia
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Avonia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avonia
      • Avonia is located in Erie County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Avonia
      • From Franklin Center to Avonia
    • Albion
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Lake City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Cross
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cross. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross
      • Cross is located in Erie County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cross
      • From Franklin Center to Cross
    • East Springfield
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Crawford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Franklin Center, with the one closest to Franklin Center listed first.
    • Crossingville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Springboro
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springboro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springboro
      • Springboro is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Springboro <3>
    • Cambridge Springs
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cambridge Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge Springs
      • Cambridge Springs is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,665 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cambridge Springs <3>
    • Venango
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Venango have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venango
      • Venango is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Venango <3>
    • Woodcock
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodcock have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodcock
      • Woodcock is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
    • Conneautville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Coons Corners
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Norrisville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Saegertown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saegertown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saegertown
      • Saegertown is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 938 people
    • Dicksonburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Brown Hill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Harmonsburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Blooming Valley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blooming Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blooming Valley
      • Blooming Valley is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 311 people
  • York County
  • Chautauqua County (NY)
  • Ashtabula County (OH)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Franklin Center, with the one closest to Franklin Center listed first.
    • Conneaut
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Kelloggsville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • North Kingsville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Kingsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Kingsville
      • North Kingsville is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,779 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for North Kingsville <3>
    • Kingsville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Richmond Center
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Andover
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Andover have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andover
      • Andover is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,088 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Andover <3>
    • Dorset
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Crestlawn Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crestlawn Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crestlawn Village
      • Crestlawn Village is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
    • Edgewood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edgewood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewood
      • Edgewood is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
    • Parkwood Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parkwood Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood Village
      • Parkwood Village is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
    • Ashtabula
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • West Andover
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Franklin Center ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Franklin 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 Franklin Center covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Francis Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Francis Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Francis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Francis Xavier Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Francis Xavier Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Francis Xavier Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sherrod Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sherrod Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sherrod Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Golden Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Golden Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Golden Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ruhl Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ruhl Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ruhl Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Brock Family Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • St. James Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. James Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. James Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairview Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Valley Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Randall Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Lewis Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lewis Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lewis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (139 more) ...
    • Sharpes Corners Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Carmel - Freeman Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Carmel - Freeman Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Carmel - Freeman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Laurel Hill Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Laurel Hill Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Laurel Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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>

While we didn't find Franklin Center in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Franklin Center.

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

  • Francis
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Francis. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Francis
    • Francis is located in Erie County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Francis
    • From Franklin Center to Francis
  • Ivarea
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ivarea have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivarea
    • Ivarea is located in Erie County
  • Lavery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lavery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavery
    • Lavery is located in Erie County
  • Little Elk
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Sterrettania
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sterrettania have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterrettania
    • Sterrettania is located in Erie County
  • McLane
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McLane have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLane
    • McLane is located in Erie County
  • McKean
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McKean have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKean
    • McKean is located in Erie County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 366 people
    • McKean has also been known as:
    • Middleboro
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McKean <3>
  • Platea
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Platea have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platea
    • Platea is located in Erie County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 397 people
  • Lundys Lane
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lundys Lane have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lundys Lane
    • Lundys Lane is located in Erie County
  • Borough of Fairview
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Borough of Fairview have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borough of Fairview
    • Borough of Fairview is located in Erie County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Borough of Fairview <3>
  • Edinboro
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edinboro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edinboro
    • Edinboro is located in Erie County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,405 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edinboro <3>
  • Girard
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Girard have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girard
    • Girard is located in Erie County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,897 people
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Albion
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Pont
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pont have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pont
      • Pont is located in Erie County
    • Avonia
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Avonia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avonia
      • Avonia is located in Erie County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Avonia
      • From Franklin Center to Avonia

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

Newspapers Published in Franklin 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 85 newspapers that have been published in the area around Franklin Center.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Franklin Center, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Franklin Center.

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 Franklin Center:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Franklin Center. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Erie County: www.eriecountygov.org/

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>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Franklin Center, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Franklin Center) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Franklin Center. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.9353, Longitude: -80.2251    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025