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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 Gurney Hill (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 Gurney Hill. 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.

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.

Gurney Hill is located in Venango 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 Venango County: Butler, Clarion, Crawford, Forest, Mercer & Warren.

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

  • Venango County     (The home county of Gurney Hill)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gurney Hill, with the one closest to Gurney Hill listed first.
    • Franklin
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Uniontown
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Uniontown is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
    • Nicklin
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Nicklin is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicklin
    • Sugarcreek
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Sugarcreek is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugarcreek
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,868 people
    • Polk
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Polk is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polk
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 768 people
    • Coal City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Coal City is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
    • Seneca
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Woodland Heights
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Woodland Heights is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Heights
    • Cranberry
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Cranberry is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranberry
    • Siverly
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Siverly is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siverly
    • Oil City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Utica
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Utica is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utica
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
    • Colonial Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Colonial Village is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
  • Armstrong County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gurney Hill, with the one closest to Gurney Hill listed first.
    • Parker
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Fredericksburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Fredericksburg is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredericksburg
    • Bradys Bend
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Bradys Bend is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradys Bend
    • Queenstown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Queenstown is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queenstown
    • Kaylor
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Kaylor is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kaylor
  • Butler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gurney Hill, with the one closest to Gurney Hill listed first.
    • Cherry Valley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Cherry Valley is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Valley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 62 people
    • Murrinsville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Murrinsville is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murrinsville
    • Eau Claire
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Ferris
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Ferris is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferris
    • Harrisville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Forestville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Forestville is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestville
    • Bovard
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Bovard is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bovard
    • Branchton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Branchton is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchton
    • Bruin
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Bruin is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 489 people
    • Slippery Rock
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Fairview
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Fairview is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 186 people
    • Hallston
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Hallston is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallston
    • Hooker
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Hooker is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
  • Clarion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gurney Hill, with the one closest to Gurney Hill listed first.
    • Lamartine
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Lamartine is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamartine
    • Pine City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Pine City is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine City
    • Venus
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Venus is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venus
    • Alum Rock
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Alum Rock is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alum Rock
    • Beaver City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Beaver City is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver City
    • Foxburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Knox
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Knox is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knox
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,067 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Knox <1>
    • Monroe
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Monroe is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
    • Saint Petersburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Turkey City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Turkey City is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey City
    • Iron City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Iron City is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
    • Jefferson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jefferson is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
    • Elk City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Elk City is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk City
  • Crawford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gurney Hill, with the one closest to Gurney Hill listed first.
    • Deckard
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Deckard is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deckard
    • Black Ash
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Black Ash is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Ash
    • Cochranton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Fauncetown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Fauncetown is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fauncetown
    • Gresham
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Gresham is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gresham
    • Titusville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Frenchtown
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Frenchtown is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchtown
    • Guys Mills
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Hydetown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Hydetown is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hydetown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 504 people
    • Townville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Townville is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Townville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 306 people
    • Wayland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Wayland is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland
    • Tryonville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Tryonville is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tryonville
    • Blooming Valley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Blooming Valley is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blooming Valley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 311 people
  • Forest County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gurney Hill, with the one closest to Gurney Hill listed first.
    • Tionesta
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Jamison
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jamison is located in Forest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamison
    • Fagundus
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Fagundus is located in Forest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fagundus
    • Trunkeyville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Trunkeyville is located in Forest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trunkeyville
  • Lawrence County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gurney Hill, with the one closest to Gurney Hill listed first.
    • Volant
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Harlansburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Harlansburg is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlansburg
  • Mercer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gurney Hill, with the one closest to Gurney Hill listed first.
    • North Sandy
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • North Sandy is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Sandy
    • Kilgore
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Kilgore is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilgore
    • New Lebanon
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • New Lebanon is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lebanon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
    • Sandy Lake
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Milledgeville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Milledgeville is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milledgeville
    • Perrine Corners
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Perrine Corners is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perrine Corners
    • Stoneboro
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • New Vernon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • New Vernon is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Vernon
    • Jackson Center
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Clarks Mills
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Clarks Mills is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarks Mills
    • Enterprise
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Enterprise is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
    • Perrys Corners
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Perrys Corners is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perrys Corners
    • Sheakleyville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Sheakleyville is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheakleyville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
  • Warren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gurney Hill, with the one closest to Gurney Hill listed first.
    • Enterprise
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Enterprise is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
    • Selkirk
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Selkirk is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selkirk
    • Sanford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Sanford is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanford
    • Tidioute
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • York County
    • Adamsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Adamsville is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville

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

Cemeteries Near Gurney Hill ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Gurney Hill.

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 Gurney Hill - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Gurney Hill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Franklin Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Franklin Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Franklin.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #44879 <2>
  • Morrison Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Graham Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Patricks Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • St. Patrick Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Old Sandy Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Melat Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Sunset Hill Memorial Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Forest Chapel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Pine Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (174 more) ...
    • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • St. Catherines Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • St. Josephs Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)

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 Gurney Hill in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Gurney Hill.

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

  • Franklin
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Sugarcreek
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Sugarcreek is located in Venango County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugarcreek
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,868 people
  • Polk
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Polk is located in Venango County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polk
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 768 people
  • Brandon
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Brandon is located in Venango County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandon
  • Foster
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Foster is located in Venango County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster
  • Astral
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Astral is located in Venango County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Astral
  • Reno
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Niles
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Niles is located in Venango County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Niles
  • Coal City
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Coal City is located in Venango County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
  • East Sandy
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • East Sandy is located in Venango County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sandy
  • Seneca
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Mason
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Mason is located in Venango County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Raymilton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Raymilton is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymilton
    • Cranberry
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Cranberry is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranberry
    • Siverly
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Siverly is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siverly

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

Newspapers Published in Gurney Hill ...

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 61 newspapers that have been published in the area around Gurney Hill.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Gurney Hill, 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 Gurney Hill.

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 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 Gurney Hill:

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 Gurney Hill, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Gurney Hill) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.