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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 Kier (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 Kier. 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.

Kier is located in Fayette 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 Fayette County: Garrett (MD), Greene, Somerset, Washington, Westmoreland, Monongalia (WV) & Preston (WV).

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

  • Fayette County     (The home county of Kier)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kier, with the one closest to Kier listed first.
    • Fuller
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Fuller is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
    • Whitsett
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Whitsett is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitsett
    • Lynn
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Lynn is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
    • Perryopolis
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Banning
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Banning is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banning
    • Dickerson Run
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Dickerson Run is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickerson Run
    • Flatwoods
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Flatwoods is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatwoods
    • Dawson
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Vanderbilt
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Redstone
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Redstone is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redstone
    • Everson
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Everson is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
    • Arnold City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Arnold City is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold City
    • Brownstown
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Brownstown is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownstown
  • Allegheny County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kier, with the one closest to Kier listed first.
    • Sunny Side
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Sunny Side is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Side
    • Buena Vista
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Buena Vista is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
    • Elizabeth
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Boston
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Clairton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Lincoln
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Lincoln is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,013 people
    • West Elizabeth
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Versailles
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Versailles is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Versailles
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,452 people
    • Mendelssohn
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Mendelssohn is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mendelssohn
    • White Oak
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Coal Valley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Coal Valley is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Valley
    • Jefferson Hills
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Jefferson Hills is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,136 people
      • Jefferson Hills has also been known as:
      • Jefferson
    • Liberty
      (18 miles [29 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
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kier, with the one closest to Kier listed first.
    • Rices Landing
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Stringtown
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Stringtown is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
    • Cumberland Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Cumberland Village is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
    • Nemacolin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Nemacolin is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nemacolin
    • Carmichaels
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Chartiers
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Chartiers is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartiers
    • Clarksville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Fairdale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Fairdale is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
    • Ceylon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Ceylon is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceylon
    • Jefferson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jefferson is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
    • Greensboro
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Khedive
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Khedive is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Khedive
    • Lippincott
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Lippincott is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lippincott
  • Somerset County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kier, with the one closest to Kier listed first.
    • Draketown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Draketown is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draketown
    • Bakersville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Bakersville is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
    • Confluence
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • New Lexington
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • New Lexington is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lexington
    • Lavansville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Lavansville is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavansville
    • New Centerville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • New Centerville is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Centerville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
    • Casselman
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Casselman is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casselman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
    • Markleton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Laurel Mountain Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Roytown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Roytown is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roytown
    • Addison
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Ursina
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Ursina is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ursina
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kier, with the one closest to Kier listed first.
    • Allenport
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Roscoe
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Roscoe is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roscoe
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 791 people
    • Speers
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Speers is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speers
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,061 people
    • Donora
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • 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>
    • Blainsburg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Blainsburg is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blainsburg
    • California
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Dunlevy
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Elco
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Elco is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elco
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
    • Long Branch
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Long Branch is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 431 people
    • Stockdale
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Twilight
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Twilight is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilight
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
    • West Brownsville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • West Brownsville is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brownsville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
    • Charleroi
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Westmoreland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kier, with the one closest to Kier listed first.
    • Smithton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Hawkeye
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Hawkeye is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkeye
    • Scottdale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Wyano
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Wyano is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyano
    • Alverton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Alverton is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alverton
    • Iron Bridge
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Iron Bridge is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Bridge
    • West Overton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • West Overton is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Overton
    • North Belle Vernon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • North Belle Vernon is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Belle Vernon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,842 people
    • West Newton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Yukon
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Hunker
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Hunker is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunker
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hunker <1>
    • Gibsonton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Gibsonton is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonton
    • Monessen
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Monongalia County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kier, with the one closest to Kier listed first.
    • Canyon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Canyon is located in Monongalia County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon
    • Cheat Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Cheat Lake is located in Monongalia County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheat Lake
    • Bowlby
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Bowlby is located in Monongalia County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowlby
    • Maidsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Maidsville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maidsville
  • Preston County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kier, with the one closest to Kier listed first.
    • Clifton Mills
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Clifton Mills is located in Preston County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton Mills
    • Brandonville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Brandonville is located in Preston County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandonville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
    • Bruceton Mills
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Kier ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Kier.

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

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

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

  • St. John the Baptist RC Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. John the Baptist RC Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. John the Baptist RC Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Perryopolis.
    • The St. John the Baptist RC Cemetery has also been known as:
    • St. Johns Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #46044 <2>
  • Mt. Washington Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Bowman - Flatwoods Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Sacred Heart RC Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • St. Timothys Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Dickerson Run - Union Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Cochran Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Hoffman Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoffman Cemetery
    • The Hoffman Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Hope Lutheran Church Cemetery
    • Old Brick Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #45096 <2>
  • East Salem Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Scottdale Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (393 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 Kier in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Kier.

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

  • Layton
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Layton is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Layton
  • Fuller
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Fuller is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
  • Whitsett
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Whitsett is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitsett
  • Perryopolis
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Curfew
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Curfew is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curfew
  • Dickerson Run
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Dickerson Run is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickerson Run
  • Jacobs Creek
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jacobs Creek is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacobs Creek
  • Banning
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Banning is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banning
  • Flatwoods
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Flatwoods is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatwoods
  • Smithton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Vanderbilt
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Dawson
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Redstone
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Redstone is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redstone
    • Woodglen
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Woodglen is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodglen
    • Adelaide
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Adelaide is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelaide

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

Newspapers Published in Kier ...

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 43 newspapers that have been published in the area around Kier.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Kier, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Kier.

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 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 Kier:

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