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 Griffiths (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 Griffiths. 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 Griffiths ...
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.
While the name of this community is Griffiths, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Griffiths may originally have been Griffith's.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Griffiths. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Griffiths.
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 hospitals and 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.
Griffiths is located in McKean 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 McKean County: Allegany (NY), Cattaraugus (NY), Cameron, Elk, Forest, Potter & Warren.
Below are the counties that are near Griffiths. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Griffiths:
- McKean County (The home county of Griffiths)
- The following are listed by their distance from Griffiths, with the one closest to Griffiths listed first.
- Coontown
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Coontown is located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coontown
- Kanesholm
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Kanesholm is located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanesholm
- Freeman
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Freeman is located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Mount Jewett
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Tallyho
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Tallyho is located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallyho
- Hutchins
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Hutchins is located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutchins
- Kane
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Westline
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Timbuck
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Timbuck is located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timbuck
- Big Shanty
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Big Shanty is located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Shanty
- Clermont
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Clermont is located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clermont
- Simpson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Simpson is located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
- Lewis Run
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Cameron County
- The following are listed by their distance from Griffiths, with the one closest to Griffiths listed first.
- Beechwood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Beechwood is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechwood
- Emporium
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Weber City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Weber City is located in Cameron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weber City
- Elk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Griffiths, with the one closest to Griffiths listed first.
- Wilcox
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- James City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Streights
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Streights is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Streights
- McKinley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- McKinley is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKinley
- Windy City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Windy City is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windy City
- Instanter
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Instanter is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Instanter
- Russell City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Russell City is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell City
- Johnsonburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Johnsonburg is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsonburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,264 people
- Whistletown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Whistletown is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whistletown
- Ridgway
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Saint Marys
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hallton
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Hallton is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallton
- Dagus Mines
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Dagus Mines is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dagus Mines
- Forest County
- The following are listed by their distance from Griffiths, with the one closest to Griffiths listed first.
- Sheffield Junction
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sheffield Junction is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheffield Junction
- Iron City
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Iron City is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Balltown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Balltown is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balltown
- Marienville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Marienville is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marienville
- Roses
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Roses is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roses
- Gilfoyle
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Gilfoyle is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilfoyle
- Redclyffe
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Redclyffe is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redclyffe
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Griffiths, with the one closest to Griffiths listed first.
- Schoffner Corner
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Schoffner Corner is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schoffner Corner
- Brockway
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Crenshaw
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Crenshaw is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crenshaw
- Munderf
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Munderf is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munderf
- Potter County
- The following are listed by their distance from Griffiths, with the one closest to Griffiths listed first.
- Roulette
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Williston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Williston is located in Potter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williston
- Warren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Griffiths, with the one closest to Griffiths listed first.
- Roystone
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Roystone is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roystone
- Donaldson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Donaldson is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
- Hoover
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Hoover is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoover
- Barnes
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Barnes is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnes
- Sheffield
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Big Bend
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Big Bend is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bend
- Kinzua ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Kinzua is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinzua
- Henrys Mills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Henrys Mills is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrys Mills
- Saybrook
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Saybrook is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saybrook
- Sugar Run ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Sugar Run is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Run
- Hemlock
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hemlock is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemlock
- Clarendon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Stoneham
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Stoneham is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoneham
- Cattaraugus County (NY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Griffiths, with the one closest to Griffiths listed first.
- Harrisburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Harrisburg is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg
- Limestone
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Elko ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Elko is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elko
- Elko has also been known as:
- Wolf Run
- New Ireland ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- New Ireland is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Ireland
- New Ireland has also been known as:
- Irish Town
- Little Ireland
- Four Mile
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Four Mile is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Mile
- Rock City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Rock City is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
- Chipmunk
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Chipmunk is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chipmunk
- Quaker Bridge ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Quaker Bridge is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker Bridge
- Quaker Bridge has also been known as:
- Tunesassa
- Onoville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Onoville is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onoville
- Carrollton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Carrollton is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrollton
- Cold Spring
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Cold Spring is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Spring
- Allegany
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Saint Bonaventure
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Griffiths, see our County-by-County Page for Griffiths.
Cemeteries Near Griffiths ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Griffiths.
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 Griffiths - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Griffiths covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Griffiths, with the one closest to Griffiths listed first.
- Greendale Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bridge View Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Forest Lawn Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Tabor Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- St. Callistus Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Holy Cross Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- McKean Memorial Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Lone Pine Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Pine Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Lone Pine Cemetery is located 8 miles [12.9 km]<3> to the northwest of Kane.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2198998 <4>
- Highland Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Moriah Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Holy Rosary Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holy Rosary Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Holy Rosary Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Johnsonburg.
- The Holy Rosary Cemetery has also been known as:
- Wardvale Catholic Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1968966 <4>
- St. John's Lutheran Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. John's Lutheran Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. John's Lutheran Cemetery is located outside and to the north of Johnsonburg.
- The St. John's Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. John's Cemetery
- Wardvale Lutheran Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2159321 <4>
- Continue List (65 more) ...
- Wardvale United Methodist Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wardvale United Methodist Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Wardvale United Methodist Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Johnsonburg.
- The Wardvale United Methodist Cemetery has also been known as:
- Johnsonburg United Methodist Cemetery
- Rolfe United Methodist Cemetery
- Wardville Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2159320 <4>
- Clermont Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Brookston Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Griffiths had railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Griffiths, with the one closest to Griffiths listed first.
- Kanesholm
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Kanesholm is located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanesholm
- Greendale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Greendale is located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greendale
- Freeman
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Freeman is located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Sergeant
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Sergeant is located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sergeant
- Mount Jewett
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Guffey
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Guffey is located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guffey
- Tallyho
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Tallyho is located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallyho
- Kane
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Hutchins
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Hutchins is located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutchins
- Dahoga
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Dahoga is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dahoga
- Westline
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Kushequa
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Kushequa is located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kushequa
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Rasselas
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Rasselas is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rasselas
- Lafayette
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Lafayette is located in McKean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lafayette
- Wilcox
(8 miles [12.9 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 Griffiths. See our List of 1890's Communities around Griffiths.
Newspapers Published in Griffiths ...
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 50 newspapers that have been published in the area around Griffiths.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Griffiths, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Griffiths.
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 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 Griffiths:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to McKean County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cameron County
- Elk County
- Forest County
- Jefferson County
- Potter County
- Warren County
- Cattaraugus 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Griffiths) 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 Griffiths, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |