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 Hostetter (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 Hostetter. 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.
Hostetter 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 Hostetter. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Hostetter:
- Westmoreland County (The home county of Hostetter)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hostetter, with the one closest to Hostetter listed first.
- Manito
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Manito is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manito
- Lawson Heights
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Lawson Heights is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawson Heights
- Youngstown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Beatty
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Beatty is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beatty
- Latrobe
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Kingston
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Kingston is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
- McChesneytown - Loyalhanna
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lycippus
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lycippus is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lycippus
- Darlington
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Darlington is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darlington
- Calumet
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- United
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- United is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for United
- Derry
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Derry is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derry
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,495 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Derry <1>
- Kecksburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Kecksburg is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kecksburg
- Allegheny County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hostetter, with the one closest to Hostetter listed first.
- Buena Vista
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Buena Vista is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Pitcairn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Wall
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Wall is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 553 people
- Boston
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- White Oak
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Garden City
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Garden City is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Monroeville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- East McKeesport
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Lincoln
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Lincoln is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,013 people
- North Versailles
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Riverton
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Riverton is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverton
- Versailles
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Versailles is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Versailles
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,452 people
- Wilmerding
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Armstrong County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hostetter, with the one closest to Hostetter listed first.
- Edmon
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Edmon is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmon
- Olivet
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Olivet is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
- Apollo
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- North Apollo
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Orchard Hills
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Orchard Hills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
- Spring Church
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Leechburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cochrans Mills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Cochrans Mills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrans Mills
- Elderton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Cambria County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hostetter, with the one closest to Hostetter listed first.
- Brownstown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Elim
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Elim is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elim
- Lilly
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Lilly is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilly
- Population from the 2020 Census: 873 people
- Southmont
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Southmont is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southmont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,048 people
- Westmont
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Westmont is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westmont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,625 people
- Cambria City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Cambria City is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambria City
- Ferndale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Johnstown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Wilmore
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Belmont
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Belmont is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
- Conemaugh
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Conemaugh is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conemaugh
- Daisytown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Daisytown is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisytown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 290 people
- Dale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Dale is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,110 people
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hostetter, with the one closest to Hostetter listed first.
- Laurelville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Laurelville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelville
- Bear Rocks
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Bear Rocks is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Rocks
- Champion
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- White
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- White is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Everson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Everson is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
- Indian Head
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Indian Head is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Head
- Seven Springs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Connellsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Dawson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Dickerson Run
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Dickerson Run is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickerson Run
- Banning
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Banning is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banning
- Fuller
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Fuller is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Rogerstown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Rogerstown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogerstown
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hostetter, with the one closest to Hostetter listed first.
- Bow
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Bow is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow
- Blairsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- White
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- White is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Robinson
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Robinson is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
- Clarksburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Black Lick
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Black Lick is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Lick
- Josephine
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Josephine is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Josephine
- Palmertown
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Jacksonville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Jacksonville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
- Saltsburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Coral
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Graceton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Graceton is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graceton
- Aultman
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Aultman is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aultman
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hostetter, with the one closest to Hostetter listed first.
- Laurel Mountain Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Roytown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Roytown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roytown
- Bakersville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Bakersville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
- Jennerstown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Sipesville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Sipesville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipesville
- Jenners Crossroads
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jenners Crossroads is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenners Crossroads
- Jenners
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jenners is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenners
- Thomas Mill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Thomas Mill is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Mill
- Husband
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Husband is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Husband
- Lavansville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lavansville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavansville
- Jerome
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Jerome is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerome
- Gideon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Gideon is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gideon
- Davidsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hostetter, with the one closest to Hostetter listed first.
- Donora
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Allenport
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Roscoe
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Roscoe is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roscoe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 791 people
- Black Diamond
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Black Diamond is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Diamond
- Charleroi
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Riverview
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Riverview is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
- Twilight
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Twilight is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilight
- Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
- Dunlevy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Elco
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Elco is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elco
- Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
- Long Branch
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Long Branch is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
- Population from the 2020 Census: 431 people
- Speers
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Speers is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speers
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,061 people
- Monongahela
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- North Charleroi
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- North Charleroi is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Charleroi
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,258 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Hostetter, see our County-by-County Page for Hostetter.
Cemeteries Near Hostetter ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hostetter.
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 Hostetter - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Hostetter covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Hostetter, with the one closest to Hostetter listed first.
- St. Vincent Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- St. Xavier Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- St. James Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- St. Lukes Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Unity Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unity Cemetery
- The Unity Cemetery has also been known as:
- Unity Presbyterian Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #46551 <2>
- St. Marys Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Shirey Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Rose Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bethel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Keltz Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Calvary Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Holy Sacrament Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (326 more) ...
- St. Clair Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Hillview Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Coles Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Hostetter had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Hostetter, with the one closest to Hostetter listed first.
- Manito
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Manito is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manito
- Whitney
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Whitney is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney
- Beatty
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Beatty is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beatty
- Youngstown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Osburn
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Osburn is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osburn
- Pleasant Unity
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lycippus
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lycippus is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lycippus
- Kingston
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Kingston is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
- Latrobe
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Carney
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Carney is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carney
- Denison
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Denison is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denison
- Trauger
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Trauger is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trauger
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Bradenville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bradenville is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradenville
- Loyalhanna
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Loyalhanna is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyalhanna
- Mutual
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Mutual is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mutual
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Hostetter. See our List of 1890's Communities around Hostetter.
Newspapers Published in Hostetter ...
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 64 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hostetter.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Hostetter, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Hostetter.
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 websites either 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 Hostetter:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Westmoreland County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegheny County
- Armstrong County
- Cambria County
- Fayette County
- Indiana County
- Somerset County
- Washington 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 Hostetter, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Hostetter) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |