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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 Kistler (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 Kistler. 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 doctors 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.

Kistler is located in Perry County.

To see how the shape of Pennsylvania's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Perry County: Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Juniata & Northumberland.

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

  • Perry County     (The home county of Kistler)
  • Adams County
  • Allegheny County
    • Bloomfield
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bloomfield have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
      • Bloomfield is located in Allegheny County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,255 people
  • Centre County
  • Cumberland County
  • Dauphin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kistler, with the one closest to Kistler listed first.
    • Dauphin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Fort Hunter
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Halifax
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Halifax have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halifax
      • Halifax is located in Dauphin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 885 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Halifax <2>
    • Millersburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millersburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersburg
      • Millersburg is located in Dauphin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,514 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Millersburg <2>
    • Stone Glen
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Stone Glen. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Glen
      • Stone Glen is located in Dauphin County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Stone Glen
      • From Kistler to Stone Glen
    • Fisherville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fisherville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisherville
      • Fisherville is located in Dauphin County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fisherville
      • From Kistler to Fisherville
    • Paxton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Paxton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxton
      • Paxton is located in Dauphin County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Paxton
      • From Kistler to Paxton
    • Harrisburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Hillside Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillside Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillside Village
      • Hillside Village is located in Dauphin County
  • Franklin County
  • Huntingdon County
  • Juniata County
  • Mifflin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kistler, with the one closest to Kistler listed first.
    • Anderson
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Anderson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
      • Anderson is located in Mifflin County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Anderson
      • From Kistler to Anderson
    • Juniata Terrace
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Juniata Terrace have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juniata Terrace
      • Juniata Terrace is located in Mifflin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
    • Lewistown Junction
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Lewistown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Highland Park
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Mattawana
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • McVeytown
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McVeytown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McVeytown
      • McVeytown is located in Mifflin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 330 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McVeytown <2>
    • Alfarata
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Alfarata. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alfarata
      • Alfarata is located in Mifflin County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Alfarata
      • From Kistler to Alfarata
    • Paintersville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Burnham
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burnham have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnham
      • Burnham is located in Mifflin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,984 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Burnham <2>
    • Yeagertown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Kishacoquillas
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Atkinson Mills
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
  • Snyder County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kistler, with the one closest to Kistler listed first.
    • McClure
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McClure have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClure
      • McClure is located in Snyder County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 919 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McClure <2>
    • Bannerville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bannerville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bannerville
      • Bannerville is located in Snyder County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bannerville
      • From Kistler to Bannerville
    • Middle Creek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Beaver Springs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Beavertown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beavertown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beavertown
      • Beavertown is located in Snyder County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 958 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Beavertown <2>
    • Benfer
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Benfer. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benfer
      • Benfer is located in Snyder County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Benfer
      • From Kistler to Benfer
    • Troxelville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Troxelville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troxelville
      • Troxelville is located in Snyder County
    • Aline
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • York County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kistler, with the one closest to Kistler listed first.
    • Siddonsburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Uniontown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Uniontown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
      • Uniontown is located in York County
    • Dillsburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dillsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dillsburg
      • Dillsburg is located in York County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,579 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dillsburg <2>

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

Cemeteries Near Kistler ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Kistler.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Emory Chapel Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Emory Chapel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Emory Chapel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Paul Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Paul Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Restland Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Restland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Restland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Blain Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Blain Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Blain Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Landisburg Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Landisburg Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Landisburg Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lower Tuscarora Church Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Eshcol Memorial Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eshcol Memorial Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eshcol Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • McCoysville Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McCoysville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McCoysville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Henry Memorial Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Henry Memorial Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Henry Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Kilmer Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kilmer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kilmer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Church Hill Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Church Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Church Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (211 more) ...
    • East Waterford Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East Waterford Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the East Waterford Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • McWilliams Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McWilliams Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McWilliams Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • McClures Gap Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McClures Gap Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McClures Gap Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Kistler had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Cisna Run
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Centre
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Centre. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centre
    • Centre is located in Perry County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Centre
    • From Kistler to Centre
  • Bixler
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Andersonburg
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Andersonburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andersonburg
    • Andersonburg is located in Perry County
  • Saville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saville
    • Saville is located in Perry County
  • Pleasant View
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant View have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
    • Pleasant View is located in Juniata County
  • Roseburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roseburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseburg
    • Roseburg is located in Perry County
  • Ickesburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Honey Grove
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Honey Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Grove
    • Honey Grove is located in Juniata County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Honey Grove <2>
  • Spruce Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spruce Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spruce Hill
    • Spruce Hill is located in Juniata County
  • Academia
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Academia have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Academia
    • Academia is located in Juniata County
  • Landisburg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Kistler ...

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 67 newspapers that have been published in the area around Kistler.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Kistler, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Kistler.

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 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 Kistler:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Kistler. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Perry County: www.perryco.org/

The official website for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>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.
<5>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 Kistler, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Kistler) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Kistler. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.3897, Longitude: -77.4339       In this case, the coordinates for Kistler have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025