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 Host (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 Host. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Host is located in Berks 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 Berks County: Chester, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Montgomery & Schuylkill.
Below are the counties that are near Host. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Host:
- Berks County (The home county of Host)
- The following are listed by their distance from Host, with the one closest to Host listed first.
- North Heidelberg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- North Heidelberg is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Heidelberg
- New Schaefferstown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- New Schaefferstown is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Schaefferstown
- Rehrersburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Rehrersburg is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rehrersburg
- Womelsdorf
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Wintersville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Wintersville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wintersville
- Mount Aetna
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Bernville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Schubert
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Schubert is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schubert
- Strausstown
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Robesonia
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Bethel
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Brownsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Brownsville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Garfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Garfield is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
- Chester County
- The following are listed by their distance from Host, with the one closest to Host listed first.
- Elverson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Cambridge
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cambridge is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
- Dampman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Dampman is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dampman
- Honey Brook
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Suplee
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Suplee is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suplee
- Cupola
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cupola is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cupola
- Isabella
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Isabella is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isabella
- Loag
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Loag is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loag
- Birdell
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Birdell is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birdell
- Rockville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rockville is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
- Compass
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Compass is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compass
- Knauertown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Knauertown is located in Chester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knauertown
- Columbia County
- The following are listed by their distance from Host, with the one closest to Host listed first.
- Locustdale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Centralia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Aristes
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Aristes is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aristes
- Dauphin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Host, with the one closest to Host listed first.
- Bachmanville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Bachmanville is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bachmanville
- Grantville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Williamstown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Shellsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Shellsville is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shellsville
- Dayton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Dayton is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
- Hershey
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Union Deposit
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Union Deposit is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Deposit
- Lykens
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Manadahill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Manadahill is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manadahill
- Skyline View
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Skyline View is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyline View
- Hummelstown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Erdman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Erdman is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erdman
- Carsonville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Carsonville is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carsonville
- Lancaster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Host, with the one closest to Host listed first.
- Cocalico
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Cocalico is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cocalico
- Blainsport
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Blainsport is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blainsport
- Hopeland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Hopeland is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopeland
- Clay
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Clay is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay
- Denver
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Poplar Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Poplar Grove is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Grove
- Brickerville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Reamstown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Stevens
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Brunnerville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Ephrata
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Elm
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Elm is located in Lancaster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm
- Akron
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Lebanon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Host, with the one closest to Host listed first.
- Newmanstown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Sheridan
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Sheridan is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheridan
- Richland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Myerstown
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Stricklerstown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Stricklerstown is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stricklerstown
- Greble
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Greble is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greble
- Prescott
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Prescott is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescott
- Avon Heights
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Avon Heights is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon Heights
- Schaefferstown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Zion
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Mount Zion is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Avon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Avon is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
- Johnstown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Johnstown is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
- Fredericksburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Lehigh County
- The following are listed by their distance from Host, with the one closest to Host listed first.
- Jacksonville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Jacksonville is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
- New Smithville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- New Smithville is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Smithville
- Stines Corner
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Stines Corner is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stines Corner
- Hynemansville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hynemansville is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hynemansville
- Weisenberg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Weisenberg is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weisenberg
- Seipstown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Seipstown is located in Lehigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seipstown
- Luzerne County
- Newtown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Newtown is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Host, with the one closest to Host listed first.
- West Pottsgrove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- West Pottsgrove is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pottsgrove
- Bramcote
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bramcote is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bramcote
- Stowe
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Northumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Host, with the one closest to Host listed first.
- Locust Gap
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Locust Gap is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Gap
- Alaska
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Alaska is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alaska
- Dooleyville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dooleyville is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dooleyville
- Gowen City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Gowen City is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowen City
- Mount Carmel
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Leck Kill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Leck Kill is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leck Kill
- Natalie
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Natalie is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natalie
- Schuylkill County
- The following are listed by their distance from Host, with the one closest to Host listed first.
- Moyers
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Moyers is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moyers
- Summit Station
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Summit Station is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Station
- Aucheys
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Aucheys is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aucheys
- Jefferson
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Jefferson is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- Lake Wynonah
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Lake Wynonah is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wynonah
- Marstown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Marstown is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marstown
- Friedensburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Auburn
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Pine Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Cressona
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Port Clinton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Irving
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Irving is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
- Paradise
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Paradise is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Host, see our County-by-County Page for Host.
Cemeteries Near Host ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Host.
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 Host - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Host covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Host, with the one closest to Host listed first.
- Host Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Reeds Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Cemetery
- The Reeds Cemetery has also been known as:
- Zions Lutheran Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #45852 <2>
- Christ Lutheran Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Womelsdorf Union Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- United Evangelical Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- St. Pauls Union Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Altalaha Lutheran Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Conrad Weiser Gravesite
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Stump Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Zeiglers Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Frantz Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- St. Johns UCC Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Continue List (272 more) ...
- Heidelberg Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Friedens Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friedens Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Friedens Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Bernville.
- The Friedens Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Old Northkill Churchyard Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1498818 <2>
- Zion Blue Mtn. Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
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 Host had a population of 247 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Host, with the one closest to Host listed first.
- Kricks Mill
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Kricks Mill is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kricks Mill
- Stouchsburg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Stouchsburg is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stouchsburg
- Womelsdorf
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- North Heidelberg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- North Heidelberg is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Heidelberg
- Rehrersburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Rehrersburg is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rehrersburg
- Wintersville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Wintersville is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wintersville
- Sheridan
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Sheridan is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheridan
- Newmanstown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Womelsdorf Station
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Womelsdorf Station is located in Berks County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Womelsdorf Station
- Mount Aetna
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Myerstown
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Millbach
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Millbach is located in Lebanon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millbach
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Robesonia
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Bernville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Strausstown
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Host. See our List of 1890's Communities around Host.
Newspapers Published in Host ...
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 43 newspapers that have been published in the area around Host.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Host, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Host.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Host:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Berks County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Chester County
- Columbia County
- Dauphin County
- Lancaster County
- Lebanon County
- Lehigh County
- Luzerne County
- Montgomery County
- Northumberland County
- Schuylkill 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 Host, 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' (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- Host) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |