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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 Keystone (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 Keystone. 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.

Keystone 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 Keystone. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Keystone:

  • Westmoreland County     (The home county of Keystone)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Keystone, with the one closest to Keystone listed first.
    • Herminie
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Rillton
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Arona
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Arona is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arona
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 343 people
    • Madison
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Yukon
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Blackburn ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Blackburn is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn
    • Shaner
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Shaner is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaner
    • Irwin
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Irwin is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,716 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irwin <1>
    • North Irwin
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • North Irwin is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Irwin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
    • Shafton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Shafton is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shafton
    • Westmoreland City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Westmoreland City is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westmoreland City
    • Adamsburg
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Adamsburg is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 161 people
  • Allegheny County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Keystone, with the one closest to Keystone listed first.
    • Buena Vista
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Buena Vista is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
    • Boston
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Versailles
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Versailles is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Versailles
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,452 people
    • White Oak
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Lincoln
      (7 miles [11.3 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
    • Liberty
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Liberty is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,438 people
    • East McKeesport
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • McKeesport
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • North Versailles
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Port Vue
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Port Vue is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Vue
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,623 people
    • Clairton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Elizabeth
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Armstrong County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Keystone, with the one closest to Keystone listed first.
    • Edmon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Edmon is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmon
    • Apollo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Apollo is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apollo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,507 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Apollo <1>
    • Orchard Hills
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Orchard Hills is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
    • North Apollo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Leechburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Olivet
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Olivet is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
    • Spring Church
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Freeport
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Aladdin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Aladdin is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aladdin
    • Cochrans Mills
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Cochrans Mills is located in Armstrong County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrans Mills
  • Butler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Keystone, with the one closest to Keystone listed first.
    • Ekastown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Ekastown is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ekastown
    • Monroe
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Monroe is located in Butler County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Keystone, with the one closest to Keystone listed first.
    • Banning
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Banning is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banning
    • Fuller
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Fuller is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
    • Whitsett
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Whitsett is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitsett
    • Lynn
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Lynn is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
    • Perryopolis
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Arnold City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Arnold City is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold City
    • Belle Vernon
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Fairhope
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Fairhope is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhope
    • Lynnwood
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Lynnwood is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynnwood
    • Everson
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Everson is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
    • Brownstown
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Brownstown is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownstown
    • Fayette City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Fayette City is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 569 people
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Keystone, with the one closest to Keystone listed first.
    • Rices Landing
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Chartiers
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Chartiers is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartiers
    • Clarksville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Stringtown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Stringtown is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
    • Cumberland Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Cumberland Village is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
    • Carmichaels
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Fairdale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Fairdale is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
    • Jefferson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jefferson is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
    • Nemacolin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Nemacolin is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nemacolin
  • Indiana County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Keystone, with the one closest to Keystone listed first.
    • White
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • White is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
    • Bow
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Bow is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow
    • Clarksburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Blairsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Saltsburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jacksonville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jacksonville is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
    • West Lebanon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • West Lebanon is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lebanon
    • Black Lick
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Black Lick is located in Indiana County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Lick
  • Somerset County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Keystone, with the one closest to Keystone listed first.
    • Laurel Mountain Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Bakersville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Bakersville is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Keystone, with the one closest to Keystone listed first.
    • Donora
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Donora is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donora
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,546 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Donora <1>
    • Black Diamond
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Black Diamond is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Diamond
    • Monongahela
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Riverview
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Riverview is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
    • Charleroi
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • North Charleroi
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • North Charleroi is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Charleroi
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,258 people
    • Twilight
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Twilight is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilight
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
    • Ellsworth
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Ellsworth is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellsworth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
    • New Eagle
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Dunlevy
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Roscoe
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Roscoe is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roscoe
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 791 people
    • Baidland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Baidland is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baidland

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

Cemeteries Near Keystone ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Keystone.

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

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

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

  • Old Mars Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Wineland Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Madison Union Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Old Quaker Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Milbell Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Dravo Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Guffey Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Markle Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Yukon Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Errett Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Brush Creek Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Michael Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (442 more) ...
    • Union Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Cemetery
      • The Union Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Irwin Union Cemetery
    • Immaculate Conception Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Weaver & Waddell Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)

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

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

  • Dick
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Dick is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dick
  • Rillton
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Madison
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Blackburn ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Blackburn is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn
  • Guffey
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Guffey is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guffey
  • Yohoghany
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Yohoghany is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yohoghany
  • Shaner
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Shaner is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaner
  • Scott Haven
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Scott Haven is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott Haven
  • Waltz Mill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Waltz Mill is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waltz Mill
  • Circleville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Circleville is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Circleville
  • Adamsburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Adamsburg is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsburg
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 161 people
  • Shafton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Shafton is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shafton
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Irwin
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Irwin is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,716 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irwin <1>
    • Buena Vista
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Buena Vista is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
    • Blythedale
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Blythedale is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blythedale

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

Newspapers Published in Keystone ...

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 70 newspapers that have been published in the area around Keystone.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Keystone, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Keystone.

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 Keystone:

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 Keystone, 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 from Point A (ie- Keystone) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.