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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 Lavansville (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 Lavansville. 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.

Lavansville is located in Somerset 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 Somerset County: Allegany (MD), Garrett (MD), Bedford, Cambria, Fayette & Westmoreland.

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

  • Somerset County     (The home county of Lavansville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lavansville, with the one closest to Lavansville listed first.
    • Husband
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Husband. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Husband
      • Husband is located in Somerset County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Husband
      • From Lavansville to Husband
    • Somerset
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Somerset have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerset
      • Somerset is located in Somerset County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,817 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Somerset <3>
    • Roytown
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • New Centerville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Centerville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Centerville
      • New Centerville is located in Somerset County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
    • Gideon
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gideon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gideon
      • Gideon is located in Somerset County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Gideon
      • From Lavansville to Gideon
    • Sipesville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Rockwood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • New Lexington
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Friedens
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Casselman
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Casselman have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casselman
      • Casselman is located in Somerset County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
    • Althouse
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Althouse. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Althouse
      • Althouse is located in Somerset County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Althouse
      • From Lavansville to Althouse
    • Beachdale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Beachdale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beachdale
      • Beachdale is located in Somerset County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Beachdale
      • From Lavansville to Beachdale
  • Bedford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lavansville, with the one closest to Lavansville listed first.
    • Kegg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kegg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kegg
      • Kegg is located in Bedford County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kegg
      • From Lavansville to Kegg
    • Hyndman
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hyndman have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyndman
      • Hyndman is located in Bedford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 854 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hyndman <3>
    • New Paris
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Paris have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Paris
      • New Paris is located in Bedford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Paris <3>
    • Schellsburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Schellsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schellsburg
      • Schellsburg is located in Bedford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 317 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Schellsburg <3>
    • Cooks Mills
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Stringtown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Manns Choice
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manns Choice have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manns Choice
      • Manns Choice is located in Bedford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 283 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manns Choice <3>
    • Pleasantville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasantville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasantville
      • Pleasantville is located in Bedford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 205 people
  • Cambria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lavansville, with the one closest to Lavansville listed first.
    • Elim
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elim have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elim
      • Elim is located in Cambria County
    • Ferndale
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Belmont
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belmont have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
      • Belmont is located in Cambria County
    • Lorain
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lorain have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorain
      • Lorain is located in Cambria County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 680 people
    • Scalp Level
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scalp Level have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scalp Level
      • Scalp Level is located in Cambria County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 691 people
    • Southmont
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Southmont have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southmont
      • Southmont is located in Cambria County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,048 people
    • Westmont
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westmont have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westmont
      • Westmont is located in Cambria County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,625 people
    • Brownstown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Daisytown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Dale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Geistown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Geistown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geistown
      • Geistown is located in Cambria County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,242 people
    • Johnstown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Fayette County
  • Indiana County
  • Westmoreland County
  • Allegany County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lavansville, with the one closest to Lavansville listed first.
    • Mount Savage
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Savage have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Savage
      • Mount Savage is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Savage <3>
    • Barrelville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Frostburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Zihlman
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Eckhart Mines
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Ellerslie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ellerslie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellerslie
      • Ellerslie is located in Allegany County (MD)
    • Midlothian
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Midlothian have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midlothian
      • Midlothian is located in Allegany County (MD)
    • Klondike
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Borden Shaft
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Clarysville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Corriganville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corriganville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corriganville
      • Corriganville is located in Allegany County (MD)
    • La Vale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Garrett County (MD)

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

Cemeteries Near Lavansville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lavansville.

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 Lavansville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Union Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Union Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Husband Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Husband Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Husband Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Weller Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Weller Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Weller Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bakersville Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Lichty Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lichty Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lichty Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Listie Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Listie Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Listie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Nedrow Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nedrow Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nedrow Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Friedens Luthern Church Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Schmucker Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Garden of Memories Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Garden of Memories Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Garden of Memories Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (200 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Lavansville had a population of 216 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Husband
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Husband. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Husband
    • Husband is located in Somerset County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Husband
    • From Lavansville to Husband
  • Bakersville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bakersville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
    • Bakersville is located in Somerset County
  • Somerset
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Somerset have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerset
    • Somerset is located in Somerset County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,817 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Somerset <3>
  • Trent
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trent have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trent
    • Trent is located in Somerset County
  • Gebhart
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gebhart have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gebhart
    • Gebhart is located in Somerset County
  • Shamrock
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shamrock have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shamrock
    • Shamrock is located in Somerset County
  • Edie
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edie
    • Edie is located in Somerset County
  • Rockwood
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Geiger
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Geiger have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geiger
    • Geiger is located in Somerset County
  • Gideon
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gideon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gideon
    • Gideon is located in Somerset County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Gideon
    • From Lavansville to Gideon
  • Sipesville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Barronvale
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barronvale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barronvale
    • Barronvale is located in Somerset County
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • New Lexington
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Friedens
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Scullton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scullton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scullton
      • Scullton is located in Somerset County

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

Newspapers Published in Lavansville ...

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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lavansville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lavansville, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Lavansville.

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 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 Lavansville:

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

The official website for Somerset County: www.co.somerset.pa.us/

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>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Lavansville) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Lavansville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.0166, Longitude: -79.1535    
<6>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 Lavansville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025