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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 Kato (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 Kato. 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.

Kato is located in Centre 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 Centre County: Blair, Cambria, Clearfield, Clinton, Huntingdon, Mifflin & Union.

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

  • Centre County     (The home county of Kato)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kato, with the one closest to Kato listed first.
    • Pancake
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Pancake is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pancake
    • Poorman Side
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Poorman Side is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poorman Side
    • Clarence
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Snow Shoe
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Monument
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Monument is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monument
    • Moshannon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Moshannon is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshannon
    • Romola
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Romola is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romola
    • Central City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Central City is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central City
    • Pine Glen
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Pine Glen is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Glen
    • Wingate
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Wingate is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wingate
    • Curtin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Curtin is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtin
    • Milesburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Cameron County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kato, with the one closest to Kato listed first.
    • Wyside
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Wyside is located in Cameron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyside
    • Driftwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Huntley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Huntley is located in Cameron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntley
    • Mix Run
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Mix Run is located in Cameron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mix Run
    • Cameron
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Cameron is located in Cameron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
  • Clearfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kato, with the one closest to Kato listed first.
    • Pottersdale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Pottersdale is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottersdale
    • Keewaydin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Keewaydin is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keewaydin
    • Kylertown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Morrisdale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Shiloh
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Shiloh is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
    • Chester Hill
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Chester Hill is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester Hill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 820 people
    • Wallaceton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Wallaceton is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallaceton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
    • West Decatur
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • West Decatur is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Decatur
      • West Decatur has also been known as:
      • Blue Ball
      • Decatur
    • Woodland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Osceola Mills
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Barrett
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Barrett is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrett
    • Ashland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Ashland is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
  • Clinton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kato, with the one closest to Kato listed first.
    • Keating
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Keating is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keating
    • Cooks Run
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Cooks Run is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Run
    • Bitumen
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Bitumen is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bitumen
    • Westport
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Abdera
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Abdera is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abdera
    • Beech Creek
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Renovo
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • South Renovo
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • South Renovo is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Renovo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 422 people
    • Lamar
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Farwell
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Farwell is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farwell
    • Farrandsville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Farrandsville is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrandsville
    • Mill Hall
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Elk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kato, with the one closest to Kato listed first.
    • Dents Run
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Dents Run is located in Elk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dents Run
    • Grant
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Grant is located in Elk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant
  • Huntingdon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kato, with the one closest to Kato listed first.
    • Dungarvin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Dungarvin is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dungarvin
    • Ennisville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Ennisville is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ennisville
  • Lycoming County
  • Mifflin County

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

Cemeteries Near Kato ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Kato.

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 Kato - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • St. Michaels Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Askey Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Lucas Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Trcziyulny Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Schencks Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Ganoe Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Oak Ridge Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Union Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Nelson Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Severin Old Log Church Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • St. Severins Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (113 more) ...

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 Kato in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Kato.

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

  • Clarence
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Fountain
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Fountain is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain
  • Butts
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Butts is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butts
  • Snow Shoe
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Rhoads
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Rhoads is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhoads
  • Gillintown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Gillintown is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillintown
  • Gum Stump
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Gum Stump is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Stump
  • Moshannon
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Moshannon is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshannon
  • Romola
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Romola is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romola
  • Pine Glen
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Pine Glen is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Glen
  • Wingate
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Wingate is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wingate
  • Milesburg
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Curtin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Curtin is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtin
    • Mount Eagle
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Mount Eagle is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Eagle
    • Pottersdale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Pottersdale is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottersdale

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

Newspapers Published in Kato ...

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 74 newspapers that have been published in the area around Kato.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Kato, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Kato.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Kato:

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