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 Hays (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 Hays. 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 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.
Hays is located in Allegheny 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 Allegheny County: Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Washington & Westmoreland.
Below are the counties that are near Hays. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Hays:
- Allegheny County (The home county of Hays)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hays, with the one closest to Hays listed first.
- Munhall
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Homestead
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- West Homestead
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- West Homestead is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Homestead
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,854 people
- Whitaker
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Mount Oliver
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- West Mifflin
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Baldwin
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Baldwin is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 19,419 people
- Brentwood
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Carrick
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Carrick is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrick
- Braddock
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Duquesne
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Allentown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Allentown is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allentown
- Dravosburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Armstrong County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hays, with the one closest to Hays listed first.
- Apollo
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Freeport
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Edmon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Edmon is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmon
- Leechburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Aladdin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Aladdin is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aladdin
- North Apollo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Orchard Hills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Orchard Hills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
- McVille
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- McVille is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McVille
- Spring Church
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Neale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Neale is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neale
- Olivet
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Olivet is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
- Slate Lick
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Slate Lick is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slate Lick
- Beaver County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hays, with the one closest to Hays listed first.
- Ambridge
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- South Heights
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- South Heights is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 437 people
- Gringo
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Gringo is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gringo
- Crestmont Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Crestmont Village is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crestmont Village
- Economy
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Economy is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Economy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,022 people
- Aliquippa
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Baden
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- New Sheffield
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- New Sheffield is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Sheffield
- Wallace City
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Wallace City is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallace City
- Conway
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Knob
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Knob is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knob
- Freedom
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- East Rochester
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- East Rochester is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Rochester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 526 people
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hays, with the one closest to Hays listed first.
- Valencia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Mars
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Seven Fields
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Seven Fields is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Fields
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,740 people
- Fox Run
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Fox Run is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Run
- Ekastown
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Ekastown is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ekastown
- Glade Mills
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Glade Mills is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade Mills
- Myoma
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Myoma is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myoma
- Fernway
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Fernway is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernway
- Ogle
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Ogle is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogle
- Callery
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Monroe
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Monroe is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
- Frazier Mill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Frazier Mill is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazier Mill
- Saxonburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hays, with the one closest to Hays listed first.
- Belle Vernon
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Lynnwood
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Lynnwood is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynnwood
- Arnold City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Arnold City is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold City
- Fairhope
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Fairhope is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhope
- Brownstown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Brownstown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownstown
- Fayette City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Fayette City is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 569 people
- Banning
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Banning is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banning
- Newell
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Newell is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 492 people
- Whitsett
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Whitsett is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitsett
- Kenneth
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Kenneth is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenneth
- Redstone
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Redstone is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redstone
- Fuller
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Fuller is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Lynn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lynn is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hays, with the one closest to Hays listed first.
- Clarksville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Chartiers
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Chartiers is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartiers
- Rices Landing
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hays, with the one closest to Hays listed first.
- White
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- White is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Bow
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Bow is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow
- Clarksburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hays, with the one closest to Hays listed first.
- Ellsworth
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Ellsworth is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellsworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
- Gastonville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Gastonville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gastonville
- Finleyville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- McMurray
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Thompsonville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Thompsonville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompsonville
- New Eagle
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Baidland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Baidland is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baidland
- Black Diamond
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Black Diamond is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Diamond
- Monongahela
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Riverview
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Riverview is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
- Gilkeson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Gilkeson is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilkeson
- Donora
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- MacDonald
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- MacDonald is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for MacDonald
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hays, with the one closest to Hays listed first.
- Trafford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Larimer
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Larimer is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larimer
- Shaner
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Shaner is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaner
- Irwin
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Irwin is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,716 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irwin <1>
- Murrysville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- North Irwin
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- North Irwin is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Irwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Rillton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Sutersville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Shafton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Shafton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shafton
- Blackburn ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Blackburn is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn
- Manor
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Manor is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manor
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,322 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manor <1>
- Parnassus
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Parnassus is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnassus
- Herminie
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Hays, see our County-by-County Page for Hays.
Cemeteries Near Hays ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hays.
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 Hays - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Hays covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Hays, with the one closest to Hays listed first.
- Hungarian Reformed Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- St. John's Cathedral Byzantine Catholic Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- St. Mary Magdalene Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Mary Magdalene Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Mary Magdalene Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Munhall.
- The St. Mary Magdalene Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Mary Homestead Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #209013 <2>
- Homestead Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homestead Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Homestead Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Munhall.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #45138 <2>
- Anne Ashley Memorial UMC Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Calvary Catholic Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvary Catholic Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Calvary Catholic Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Pittsburgh.
- The Calvary Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
- Calvary Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #44504 <2>
- St. Georges Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Beth Abraham Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Shaare Torah Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Sacred Heart of Jesus Polish National Catholic Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Turner Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Loretto Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (425 more) ...
- St. Wendelin RC Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Zion Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Richland Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Hays had railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Hays, with the one closest to Hays listed first.
- Glenwood
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Glenwood is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
- Munhall
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Homestead
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Baldwin
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Baldwin is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 19,419 people
- Whitaker
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Mount Oliver
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Carrick
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Carrick is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrick
- Whitehall
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Option
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Option is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Option
- Surgeon Hall
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Surgeon Hall is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Surgeon Hall
- Willock
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Willock is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willock
- New England
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- New England is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New England
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Camden
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Camden is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden
- Dravosburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Duquesne
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Hays. See our List of 1890's Communities around Hays.
Newspapers Published in Hays ...
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 479 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hays.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Hays, there are papers which were published within 7 miles [11.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Hays.
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 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 Hays:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Allegheny County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Armstrong County
- Beaver County
- Butler County
- Fayette County
- Greene County
- Indiana County
- Washington County
- Westmoreland 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> | 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 Hays, 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- Hays) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |