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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 Hastings (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 Hastings. 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 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.

Hastings is located in Forest 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 Forest County: Clarion, Elk, Jefferson, Venango & Warren.

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

  • Forest County     (The home county of Hastings)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hastings, with the one closest to Hastings listed first.
    • Balltown
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Balltown is located in Forest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balltown
    • Sheffield Junction
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Sheffield Junction is located in Forest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheffield Junction
    • Iron City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Iron City is located in Forest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
    • Marienville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Marienville is located in Forest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marienville
    • Roses
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Roses is located in Forest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roses
    • Gilfoyle
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Gilfoyle is located in Forest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilfoyle
    • Redclyffe
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Redclyffe is located in Forest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redclyffe
    • Trunkeyville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Trunkeyville is located in Forest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trunkeyville
    • Fagundus
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Fagundus is located in Forest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fagundus
    • Clarington
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Tionesta
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Jamison
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Jamison is located in Forest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamison
  • Clarion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hastings, with the one closest to Hastings listed first.
    • Crown
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Crown is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crown
    • Newmansville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Newmansville is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newmansville
    • Cooksburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Leeper
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Wolfs Corners
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Wolfs Corners is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfs Corners
    • Fryburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Helen Furnace
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Helen Furnace is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helen Furnace
    • Marble
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Venus
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Venus is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Venus
    • Arthurs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Arthurs is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthurs
    • Pine City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Pine City is located in Clarion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine City
    • Clarion
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Crawford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hastings, with the one closest to Hastings listed first.
    • Titusville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Vrooman
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Vrooman is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vrooman
  • Elk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hastings, with the one closest to Hastings listed first.
    • Russell City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Russell City is located in Elk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell City
    • Windy City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Windy City is located in Elk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windy City
    • McKinley
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • McKinley is located in Elk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKinley
    • James City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Hallton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Hallton is located in Elk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallton
    • Millstone
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Millstone is located in Elk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millstone
    • Lake City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Wilcox
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Ridgway
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Whistletown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Whistletown is located in Elk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whistletown
    • Johnsonburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Johnsonburg is located in Elk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsonburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,264 people
    • Streights
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Streights is located in Elk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Streights
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hastings, with the one closest to Hastings listed first.
    • Ella
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Ella is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ella
    • Sigel
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Schoffner Corner
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Schoffner Corner is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schoffner Corner
    • Munderf
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Munderf is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munderf
    • Howe
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Howe is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howe
    • Brockway
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Hazen
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Hazen is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazen
    • Warsaw
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Warsaw is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warsaw
    • Allens Mills
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Allens Mills is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Mills
    • Corsica
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Corsica is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corsica
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 342 people
    • Brookville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Crenshaw
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Crenshaw is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crenshaw
  • McKean County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hastings, with the one closest to Hastings listed first.
    • Kane
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Kane is located in McKean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kane
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,421 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kane <1>
    • Coontown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Coontown is located in McKean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coontown
    • Kanesholm
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Kanesholm is located in McKean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanesholm
    • Westline
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Tallyho
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Tallyho is located in McKean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallyho
    • Freeman
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Freeman is located in McKean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
    • Hutchins
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Hutchins is located in McKean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutchins
    • Timbuck
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Timbuck is located in McKean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timbuck
    • Mount Jewett
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Big Shanty
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Big Shanty is located in McKean County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Shanty
    • Lewis Run
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Custer City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Venango County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hastings, with the one closest to Hastings listed first.
    • Pleasantville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • President
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • President is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for President
    • Pithole City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Pithole City is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pithole City
    • Shamburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Shamburg is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shamburg
    • Plumer
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Plumer is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumer
    • Coal Hill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Coal Hill is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Hill
    • Fertigs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Fertigs is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fertigs
    • Petroleum Center
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Petroleum Center is located in Venango County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petroleum Center
  • Warren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hastings, with the one closest to Hastings listed first.
    • Henrys Mills
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Henrys Mills is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrys Mills
    • Donaldson
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Donaldson is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
    • Hoover
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Hoover is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoover
    • Barnes
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Barnes is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnes
    • Hermit Spring
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Hermit Spring is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermit Spring
    • Sheffield
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Saybrook
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Saybrook is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saybrook
    • Roystone
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Roystone is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roystone
    • Clarendon
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Stoneham
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Stoneham is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoneham
    • Cobham
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Cobham is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobham
    • Big Bend
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Big Bend is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bend
  • Cattaraugus County (NY)
    • Onoville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Onoville is located in Cattaraugus County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onoville
  • Chautauqua County (NY)
    • Kiantone
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Kiantone is located in Chautauqua County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiantone

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

Cemeteries Near Hastings ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hastings.

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 Hastings - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Cherry Grove Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Brookston Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • North Forest Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Whig Hill Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Roses Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Moriah Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Highland Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Forest Lawn Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Economite Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • St. Callistus Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Mt. Tabor Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Oakland Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (91 more) ...
    • St. Josephs Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • St. Mary's Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Mary's Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Mary's Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in the vicinity of Crown
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #366360 <2>
    • Lone Pine Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 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.<4>

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

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

  • Balltown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Balltown is located in Forest County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balltown
  • Mayburg
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Mayburg is located in Forest County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayburg
  • Pigeon
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Pigeon is located in Forest County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
  • Sheffield Junction
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Sheffield Junction is located in Forest County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheffield Junction
  • Donaldson
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Donaldson is located in Warren County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
  • Byromtown
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Byromtown is located in Forest County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byromtown
  • Cherry Grove
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Cherry Grove is located in Warren County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Grove
  • Brookston
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Brookston is located in Forest County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookston
  • Barnes
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Barnes is located in Warren County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnes
  • Penoke
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Penoke is located in Forest County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penoke
  • Sheffield
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Chaffee
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Chaffee is located in Elk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaffee
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Saybrook
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Saybrook is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saybrook
    • Kellettville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Kellettville is located in Forest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellettville
    • Marienville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Marienville is located in Forest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marienville

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

Newspapers Published in Hastings ...

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 76 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hastings.

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Hastings:

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 '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- Hastings) 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 Hastings, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.