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 Harbison (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 Harbison. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Harbison is located in Westmoreland 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 Westmoreland County: Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler, Cambria, Fayette, Indiana & Somerset.
Below are the counties that are near Harbison. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Harbison:
- Westmoreland County (The home county of Harbison)
- The following are listed by their distance from Harbison, with the one closest to Harbison listed first.
- Bagdad
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bagdad is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagdad
- West Leechburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- West Leechburg is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leechburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,211 people
- Hyde Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Weinel Crossroads
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Weinel Crossroads is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weinel Crossroads
- Lower Burrell
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- East Vandergrift
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- East Vandergrift is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Vandergrift
- Population from the 2020 Census: 631 people
- Vandergrift
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Arnold
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Parnassus
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Parnassus is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnassus
- Oklahoma
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Oklahoma is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oklahoma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 739 people
- New Kensington
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- North Washington
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- North Washington is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Washington
- Salina
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Allegheny County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harbison, with the one closest to Harbison listed first.
- Sligo
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Sligo is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sligo
- Karns
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Karns is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Karns
- Natrona
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Natrona is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natrona
- Brackenridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Culmerville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Culmerville is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Culmerville
- Tarentum
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Curtisville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Curtisville is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtisville
- Russellton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rural Ridge
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cheswick
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Harwick
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Harwick is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harwick
- Springdale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Indianola
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Armstrong County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harbison, with the one closest to Harbison listed first.
- Aladdin
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Aladdin is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aladdin
- Freeport
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- McVille
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- McVille is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McVille
- Slate Lick
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Slate Lick is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slate Lick
- Neale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Neale is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neale
- Leechburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Shadyside Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Shadyside Village is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadyside Village
- Shadyside Village has also been known as:
- Buffalo Creek
- Yellow Dog Village
- Rosston
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Rosston is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosston
- West Ford City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- West Ford City is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Ford City
- Ford Cliff
(8 miles [12.9 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
- Dog Town
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Dog Town is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dog Town
- Ford City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lenape Heights
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lenape Heights is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenape Heights
- Beaver County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harbison, with the one closest to Harbison listed first.
- Economy
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Economy is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Economy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,022 people
- Knob
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Knob is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knob
- Wallace City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Wallace City is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallace City
- Baden
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Goehring
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Goehring is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goehring
- Ambridge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Barrisville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Barrisville is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrisville
- Conway
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Freedom
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Aliquippa
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- East Rochester
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- East Rochester is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Rochester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 526 people
- Lillyville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Lillyville is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lillyville
- Monaca
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harbison, with the one closest to Harbison listed first.
- Monroe
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Monroe is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
- Leasureville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Leasureville is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leasureville
- Ekastown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Ekastown is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ekastown
- Dennys Mills
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Dennys Mills is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennys Mills
- Saxonburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Great Belt
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Great Belt is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Belt
- Frazier Mill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Frazier Mill is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazier Mill
- Fenelton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Herman
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Glade Mills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Glade Mills is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade Mills
- Nixon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Nixon is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nixon
- East Butler
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Meadowood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Meadowood is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowood
- Clarion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harbison, with the one closest to Harbison listed first.
- East Brady
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Phillipston
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Phillipston is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillipston
- Catfish
(21 miles [33.8 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 northeast)
- Lawsonham is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonham
- Bela
(24 miles [38.6 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)
- Toby
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Toby is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toby
- West Freedom
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- West Freedom is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Freedom
- Leatherwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Leatherwood is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherwood
- New Bethlehem
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Fairmont City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Piolett
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Piolett is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piolett
- Callensburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Callensburg is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Callensburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 191 people
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Harbison, with the one closest to Harbison listed first.
- West Lebanon
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- West Lebanon is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lebanon
- Clarksburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Saltsburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Parkwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Parkwood is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
- Shelocta
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- White
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- White is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Bow
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Bow is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow
- Jacksonville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Jacksonville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
- Willet
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Willet is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willet
- Aultman
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Aultman is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aultman
- Beyer
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Beyer is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beyer
- Creekside
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Creekside is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creekside
- Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
- Shado-Wood Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Shado-Wood Village is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shado-Wood Village
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Harbison, see our County-by-County Page for Harbison.
Cemeteries Near Harbison ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Harbison.
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 Harbison - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Harbison covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Harbison, with the one closest to Harbison listed first.
- Freeport Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- 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 <2>
- St. Marys Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Murphys Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Brookland Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Cumberland Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Airy Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Forks - Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- 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 <2>
- Evergreen Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- St. Catherine Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- St. Catherines Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Hope Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (347 more) ...
- Leechburg Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pape Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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.<4>
While we didn't find Harbison in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Harbison.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Harbison, with the one closest to Harbison listed first.
- Aladdin
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Aladdin is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aladdin
- Monroe
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Monroe is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
- Garvers Ferry
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Garvers Ferry is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garvers Ferry
- Freeport
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Sandy Lick
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Sandy Lick is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Lick
- Leasureville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Leasureville is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leasureville
- Boggsville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Boggsville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boggsville
- Sarver
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Sarversville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Sarversville is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sarversville
- Sligo
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Sligo is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sligo
- Bagdad
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bagdad is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagdad
- McVille
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- McVille is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McVille
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Slate Lick
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Slate Lick is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slate Lick
- Ekastown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Ekastown is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ekastown
- Karns
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Karns is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Karns
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Harbison. See our List of 1890's Communities around Harbison.
Newspapers Published in Harbison ...
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 27 newspapers that have been published in the area around Harbison.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Harbison, 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 Harbison.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Harbison:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Westmoreland County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegheny County
- Armstrong County
- Beaver County
- Butler County
- Clarion County
- Indiana 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> | 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> | 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- Harbison) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Harbison, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |