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 Johnstown (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 Johnstown. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Johnstown is located in Union 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 Union County: Centre, Clinton, Lycoming, Mifflin, Northumberland & Snyder.
Below are the counties that are near Johnstown. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Johnstown:
- Union County (The home county of Johnstown)
- The following are listed by their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
- Red Bank
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Red Bank is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
- Mifflinburg
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- New Berlin
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mazeppa
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mazeppa is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mazeppa
- Millmont
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Hartleton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hartleton is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartleton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 275 people
- Dry Valley Crossroads
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lewisburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Linntown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Linntown is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linntown
- Laurelton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Laurelton is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelton
- Glen Iron
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Glen Iron is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Iron
- West Milton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- West Milton is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Milton
- Centre County
- The following are listed by their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
- Livonia
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Livonia is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livonia
- Woodward
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Fiedler
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Fiedler is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiedler
- Wolfs Store
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Wolfs Store is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfs Store
- Ingleby
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Ingleby is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleby
- Rebersburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Aaronsburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Coburn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Millheim
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Madisonburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Madisonburg is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madisonburg
- Zerby
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Zerby is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zerby
- Penn Hall
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Penn Hall is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penn Hall
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
- Loganton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Rauchtown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Rauchtown is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rauchtown
- Greenburr
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Greenburr is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenburr
- Tylersville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Tylersville is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tylersville
- Rote
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Rote is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rote
- Youngdale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Youngdale is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngdale
- Avis
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- McElhattan
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Castanea
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Dunnstown
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Dunnstown is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnstown
- Salona
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Salona is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salona
- Cedar Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Springs is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Springs
- Columbia County
- The following are listed by their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
- Jerseytown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Jerseytown is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerseytown
- Grovania
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Grovania is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grovania
- Buckhorn
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Buckhorn is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckhorn
- Eyers Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Eyers Grove is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eyers Grove
- Catawissa
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Mordansville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Mordansville is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mordansville
- Rupert
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Rupert is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rupert
- Iola
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Iola is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iola
- Millville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Dauphin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
- Paxton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Paxton is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxton
- Pillow
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Berrysburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Millersburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Erdman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Erdman is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erdman
- Rife
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Rife is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rife
- Gratz
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Elizabethville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Loyalton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Loyalton is located in Dauphin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyalton
- Juniata County
- The following are listed by their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
- Richfield
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Knousetown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Knousetown is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knousetown
- Swales
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Swales is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swales
- Seven Stars
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Seven Stars is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
- McAlisterville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Thompsontown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Locust Run
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Locust Run is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Run
- Lycoming County
- The following are listed by their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
- Collomsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Collomsville is located in Lycoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collomsville
- Maple Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Maple Hill is located in Lycoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Hill
- Montgomery
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Duboistown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Duboistown is located in Lycoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duboistown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,170 people
- Antes Fort
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Antes Fort is located in Lycoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antes Fort
- Linden
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Newberry
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Newberry is located in Lycoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newberry
- South Williamsport
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Garden View
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Garden View is located in Lycoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden View
- Grimesville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Grimesville is located in Lycoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grimesville
- Williamsport
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Jersey Shore
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mifflin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
- Alfarata
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Alfarata is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alfarata
- Paintersville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Paintersville is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paintersville
- Montour County
- The following are listed by their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
- Mooresburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Mooresburg is located in Montour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mooresburg
- Washingtonville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Washingtonville is located in Montour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washingtonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
- Danville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Exchange
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Exchange is located in Montour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exchange
- Mechanicsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Mechanicsville is located in Montour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsville
- Northumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
- Milton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Milton is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,550 people
- Northumberland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Potts Grove
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Sunbury
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Dewart
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Watsontown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Selinsgrove Junction
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Selinsgrove Junction is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selinsgrove Junction
- McEwensville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Asherton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Asherton is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asherton
- Keefers
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Keefers is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keefers
- Mile Run
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mile Run is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mile Run
- Augustaville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Augustaville is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Augustaville
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
- Pfoutz Valley
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Pfoutz Valley is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pfoutz Valley
- Liverpool
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Reward
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Reward is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reward
- Millerstown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Schuylkill County
- The following are listed by their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
- Klingerstown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Rough and Ready
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Rough and Ready is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rough and Ready
- Snyder County
- The following are listed by their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
- Penns Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Globe Mills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Globe Mills is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe Mills
- Kratzerville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Kratzerville is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kratzerville
- Middleburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Kreamer
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Coon Hunter
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Coon Hunter is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coon Hunter
- Paxtonville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Paxtonville is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxtonville
- Troxelville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Troxelville is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troxelville
- Freeburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Freeburg is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 566 people
- Hummels Wharf
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Selinsgrove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Shamokin Dam
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Johnstown, see our County-by-County Page for Johnstown.
Cemeteries Near Johnstown ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Johnstown.
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 Johnstown - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Johnstown covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
- Long Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Lewis Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Sierer Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- The Sierer Cemetery is located on private property - be sure to secure permission before visiting.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sierer Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Sierer Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<2> to the south of Mazeppa.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2143727 <3>
- Union Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Old Cedars Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- St. Pauls Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Emmanuel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- New Berlin Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Luntz Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Stoltzfus Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Hartleton Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Boyer Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Continue List (157 more) ...
- Guier Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ebenezer Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Lewisburg Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
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 Johnstown in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Johnstown.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Johnstown, with the one closest to Johnstown listed first.
- Mifflinburg
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Rand
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Rand is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rand
- Cowan
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cowan is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowan
- Forest Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Forest Hill is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hill
- New Berlin
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Vicksburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Buffalo Crossroads
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Buffalo Crossroads is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Crossroads
- Mazeppa
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mazeppa is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mazeppa
- Millmont
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Swengel
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Swengel is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swengel
- Penns Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Lochiel
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Lochiel is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lochiel
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Hartleton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hartleton is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartleton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 275 people
- Dry Valley Crossroads
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Kelly Point
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Kelly Point is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelly Point
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Johnstown. See our List of 1890's Communities around Johnstown.
Newspapers Published in Johnstown ...
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 65 newspapers that have been published in the area around Johnstown.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Johnstown, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Johnstown.
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 helpful 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 Johnstown:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Union County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Centre County
- Clinton County
- Columbia County
- Dauphin County
- Juniata County
- Lycoming County
- Mifflin County
- Montour County
- Northumberland County
- Perry County
- Schuylkill County
- Snyder 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Johnstown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Johnstown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |