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 Jonestown (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 Jonestown. 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.
Jonestown is located in Columbia 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 Columbia County: Luzerne, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Schuylkill & Sullivan.
Below are the counties that are near Jonestown. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Jonestown:
- Columbia County (The home county of Jonestown)
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonestown, with the one closest to Jonestown listed first.
- Zaner
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Zaner is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zaner
- Stillwater
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Briar Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Briar Creek is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briar Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 672 people
- Foundryville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Foundryville is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foundryville
- Benton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mifflinville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Berwick
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Orangeville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rohrsburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Rohrsburg is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rohrsburg
- Lime Ridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Lime Ridge is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime Ridge
- Hetlerville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Hetlerville is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hetlerville
- Almedia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Almedia is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almedia
- Carbon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonestown, with the one closest to Jonestown listed first.
- Coxes Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Coxes Village is located in Carbon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coxes Village
- Coxes Village has also been known as:
- Cross Village
- Tresckow
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Tresckow is located in Carbon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tresckow
- Beaver Meadows
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Hudsondale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hudsondale is located in Carbon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudsondale
- Weatherly
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Leslie Run
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Leslie Run is located in Carbon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leslie Run
- Lansford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Luzerne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonestown, with the one closest to Jonestown listed first.
- New Columbus
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- New Columbus is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Columbus
- Population from the 2020 Census: 227 people
- Register
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Register is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Register
- Waterton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Waterton is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterton
- Huntington Mills
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Clarks View
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Clarks View is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarks View
- Harveyville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Harveyville is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harveyville
- East Berwick
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- East Berwick is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Berwick
- Beach Haven
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Beach Haven is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach Haven
- Nescopeck
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Shickshinny
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Fairmount Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Fairmount Springs is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount Springs
- Pleasant Valley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Valley is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
- Lycoming County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonestown, with the one closest to Jonestown listed first.
- Richarts Grove
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Richarts Grove is located in Lycoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richarts Grove
- Unityville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Biggerstown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Biggerstown is located in Lycoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biggerstown
- Lungerville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lungerville is located in Lycoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lungerville
- Lairdsville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lairdsville is located in Lycoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lairdsville
- Beaver Lake
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Beaver Lake is located in Lycoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Lake
- Muncy
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Muncy
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Muncy is located in Lycoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muncy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,191 people
- Montgomery
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Montour County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonestown, with the one closest to Jonestown listed first.
- Mechanicsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Mechanicsville is located in Montour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsville
- Danville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Exchange
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Exchange is located in Montour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exchange
- Washingtonville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Washingtonville is located in Montour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washingtonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
- Mooresburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Mooresburg is located in Montour County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mooresburg
- Northumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonestown, with the one closest to Jonestown listed first.
- Riverside
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Chulasky
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Chulasky is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chulasky
- Elysburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Marion Heights
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Marion Heights is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 573 people
- Rushtown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Rushtown is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushtown
- Mount Carmel
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Natalie
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Natalie is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natalie
- Bear Gap
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Bear Gap is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Gap
- Reed
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Reed is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reed
- Alaska
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Alaska is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alaska
- Dooleyville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Dooleyville is located in Northumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dooleyville
- Kulpmont
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Schuylkill County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonestown, with the one closest to Jonestown listed first.
- Nuremberg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Zion Grove
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Ferndale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Ferndale is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferndale
- Oneida
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Oneida is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oneida
- Sheppton
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Brandonville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Brandonville is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandonville
- Ringtown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Krebs
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Krebs is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Krebs
- Girard Manor
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Girard Manor is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girard Manor
- Raven Run
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Raven Run is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raven Run
- Shenandoah Heights
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Shenandoah Heights is located in Schuylkill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shenandoah Heights
- Shenandoah
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Sullivan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonestown, with the one closest to Jonestown listed first.
- Long Brook
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Long Brook is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Brook
- Beech Glen
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Beech Glen is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Glen
- Sonestown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Laporte
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bernice
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Bernice is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bernice
- Eagles Mere
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Shinerville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Shinerville is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shinerville
- Dushore
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Ogdonia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ogdonia is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogdonia
- Forksville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hillsgrove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Millview
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Millview is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millview
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonestown, with the one closest to Jonestown listed first.
- New Columbia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Allenwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- West Milton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- West Milton is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Milton
- Wyoming County
- The following are listed by their distance from Jonestown, with the one closest to Jonestown listed first.
- Noxen
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Beaumont
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Beaumont is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaumont
- Mill City ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mill City is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill City
- Evans Falls
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Evans Falls is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans Falls
- Vernon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Vernon is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
- Forkston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Forkston is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forkston
- Jenks
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Jenks is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenks
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Jonestown, see our County-by-County Page for Jonestown.
Cemeteries Near Jonestown ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Jonestown.
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 Jonestown - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Jonestown covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Jonestown, with the one closest to Jonestown listed first.
- Dodson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Zion Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Belles Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Graveyard Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Old Ebenezer Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Scott Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Russian Orthodox Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Greek Catholic Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Laurel Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Roselawn Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (197 more) ...
- Raven Creek Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Goss Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goss Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Goss Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<3> to the northwest of Huntington Mills.
- The Goss Cemetery has also been known as:
- Harveyville Cemetery
- Trescott Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2186549 <2>
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 Jonestown in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Jonestown.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Jonestown, with the one closest to Jonestown listed first.
- Asbury
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Asbury is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asbury
- Zaner
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Zaner is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zaner
- Evansville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Evansville is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evansville
- New Columbus
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- New Columbus is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Columbus
- Population from the 2020 Census: 227 people
- Stillwater
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Fowlersville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Fowlersville is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowlersville
- Cambra
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Waterton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Waterton is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterton
- Town Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Town Hill is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town Hill
- Register
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Register is located in Luzerne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Register
- Briar Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Briar Creek is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briar Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 672 people
- Huntington Mills
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Orangeville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Willow Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Willow Springs is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Springs
- Mifflinville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Jonestown. See our List of 1890's Communities around Jonestown.
Newspapers Published in Jonestown ...
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 60 newspapers that have been published in the area around Jonestown.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Jonestown, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Jonestown.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Jonestown:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Columbia County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Carbon County
- Luzerne County
- Lycoming County
- Montour County
- Northumberland County
- Schuylkill County
- Sullivan County
- Union County
- Wyoming 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Jonestown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Jonestown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |