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Home >> Commonwealth of Pennsylvania >> Blair County >> Homer Gap >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Homer Gap (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 Homer Gap. 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 and doctors 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.

Homer Gap is located in Blair 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 Blair County: Bedford, Cambria, Centre & Huntingdon.

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

  • Blair County     (The home county of Homer Gap)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Homer Gap, with the one closest to Homer Gap listed first.
    • Highland Fling
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Highland Fling is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Fling
    • Altoona
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Bellwood
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Canan
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Canan is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canan
    • Eldorado
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Eldorado is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldorado
    • Culp
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Culp is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Culp
    • Tipton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Cross Keys
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Cross Keys is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Keys
    • Frankstown
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Frankstown is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankstown
    • Grazierville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Grazierville is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grazierville
    • Duncansville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Hollidaysburg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Flowing Spring
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Flowing Spring is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flowing Spring
  • Bedford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Homer Gap, with the one closest to Homer Gap listed first.
    • King
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • King is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King
    • Maria
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Maria is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maria
    • Pavia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Pavia is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pavia
    • Waterside
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Waterside is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterside
    • Loysburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • New Enterprise
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • New Enterprise is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Enterprise
    • Osterburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Riddlesburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Riddlesburg is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riddlesburg
    • Salemville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Salemville is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salemville
    • Woodbury
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Marble City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Marble City is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marble City
    • Langdondale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Langdondale is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langdondale
    • Pleasantville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Pleasantville is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasantville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 205 people
  • Cambria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Homer Gap, with the one closest to Homer Gap listed first.
    • Buckhorn
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Buckhorn is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckhorn
    • Dean
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Dean is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dean
    • Dysart
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Dysart is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dysart
    • Lloydville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Lloydville is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloydville
    • Ashville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Gallitzin
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Amsbry
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Amsbry is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amsbry
    • Fallentimber
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Tunnelhill
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Tunnelhill is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnelhill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 327 people
    • Spindley City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Spindley City is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spindley City
    • Chest Springs
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Chest Springs is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chest Springs
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 138 people
    • Cresson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Sankertown
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Sankertown is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sankertown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 606 people
  • Centre County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Homer Gap, with the one closest to Homer Gap listed first.
    • Sandy Ridge
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Sandy Ridge is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Ridge
    • New Town
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • New Town is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
    • Marengo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Marengo is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marengo
    • Glass City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Glass City is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glass City
    • South Philipsburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • South Philipsburg is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Philipsburg
    • Musser
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Musser is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Musser
    • Port Matilda
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Philipsburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • North Philipsburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • North Philipsburg is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Philipsburg
    • Ramblewood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Ramblewood is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramblewood
    • Stormstown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Stormstown is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stormstown
    • Fairbrook
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Fairbrook is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairbrook
    • Casanova
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Casanova is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casanova
  • Clearfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Homer Gap, with the one closest to Homer Gap listed first.
    • Utahville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Utahville is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utahville
    • Ginter
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Ginter is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ginter
    • Blain City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Blain City is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blain City
    • Coalport
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Lyleville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Lyleville is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyleville
    • Rosebud
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Rosebud is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosebud
    • Hegarty Crossroads
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Hegarty Crossroads is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hegarty Crossroads
    • Glen Hope
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Glen Hope is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Hope
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
    • Ramey
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Ramey is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 425 people
    • Irvona
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Houtzdale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • McPherron
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • McPherron is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McPherron
    • Belsena
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Belsena is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belsena
      • Belsena has also been known as:
      • Belsena Mills
  • Huntingdon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Homer Gap, with the one closest to Homer Gap listed first.
    • Birmingham
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Birmingham is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
    • Water Street
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Water Street is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Street
    • Pennington
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Pennington is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
    • Alexandria
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Huntingdon Furnace
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Huntingdon Furnace is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntingdon Furnace
    • Marklesburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Marklesburg is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marklesburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 194 people
    • Petersburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Seven Stars
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Seven Stars is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
    • Hesston
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • McConnellstown
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • McConnellstown is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McConnellstown
    • Dungarvin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Dungarvin is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dungarvin
    • Entriken
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Huntingdon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  • Indiana County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Homer Gap, with the one closest to Homer Gap listed first.
    • Uniontown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Uniontown is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
    • Alverda
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Alverda is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alverda
    • Cherry Tree
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Cherry Tree is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Tree
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
    • Grisemore
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Grisemore is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grisemore
    • Heilwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Heilwood is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heilwood
    • Pine Flats
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Pine Flats is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Flats
    • Rexis
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Rexis is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rexis
    • Glen Campbell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Hillsdale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Hillsdale is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
    • Hooverhurst
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Hooverhurst is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooverhurst
    • Cookport
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Cookport is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cookport
    • Kenwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Kenwood is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenwood
    • Nolo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Nolo is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nolo
  • Mifflin County
  • Somerset County
    • Ogletown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Ogletown is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogletown

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

Cemeteries Near Homer Gap ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Homer Gap.

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 Homer Gap - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Grandview Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Grandview Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Altoona.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #44953 <2>
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Antis Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Agudath Achim Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • St.s Peter & Paul Russian Orthodox Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • St. Mary Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • St.s Peter & Paul RC Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Oak Ridge Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Rose Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Rose Hill Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Altoona.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #45918 <2>
  • Continue List   (322 more) ...
    • Greenwood Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Calvary Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Logan Valley Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 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 Homer Gap in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Homer Gap.

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

  • Juniata
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Juniata is located in Blair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juniata
  • Wopsononock
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Wopsononock is located in Blair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wopsononock
  • Altoona
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Bellwood
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Roots
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Roots is located in Blair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roots
  • Allegheny Furnace
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Allegheny Furnace is located in Blair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allegheny Furnace
  • Fostoria
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Fostoria is located in Blair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fostoria
  • Canan
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Canan is located in Blair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canan
  • Eldorado
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Eldorado is located in Blair County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldorado
  • Dean
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Dean is located in Cambria County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dean
  • Condron
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Condron is located in Cambria County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Condron
  • Dysart
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Dysart is located in Cambria County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dysart
  • Continue List   (20 more) ...
    • Lloydville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Lloydville is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloydville
    • Elstie
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Elstie is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elstie
    • Culp
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Culp is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Culp

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

Newspapers Published in Homer Gap ...

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 68 newspapers that have been published in the area around Homer Gap.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Homer Gap, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Homer Gap.

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 Homer Gap:

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 Homer Gap, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Homer Gap) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.