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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 Layton (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 Layton. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

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

  • Fayette County     (The home county of Layton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Layton, with the one closest to Layton listed first.
    • Fuller
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Fuller is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
    • Lynn
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Lynn is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
    • Perryopolis
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Banning
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Banning is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banning
    • Whitsett
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Whitsett is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitsett
    • 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)
    • Dickerson Run
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Dickerson Run is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickerson Run
    • Redstone
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Redstone is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redstone
    • Vanderbilt
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Arnold City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Arnold City is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold City
    • Brownstown
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Brownstown is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownstown
    • Fairhope
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Fairhope is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhope
  • Allegheny County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Layton, with the one closest to Layton 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)
    • Lincoln
      (15 miles [24.1 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
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Boston
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Versailles
      (16 miles [25.7 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
    • Clairton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jefferson Hills
      (17 miles [27.4 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
      (17 miles [27.4 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
    • Mendelssohn
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Mendelssohn is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mendelssohn
    • Coal Valley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Coal Valley is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Valley
    • Cochrans Mill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Cochrans Mill is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrans Mill
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Layton, with the one closest to Layton listed first.
    • Stringtown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Stringtown is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
    • Rices Landing
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Carmichaels
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Clarksville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • 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
    • Chartiers
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Chartiers is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartiers
    • 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
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jefferson is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
    • Khedive
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Khedive is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Khedive
    • Greensboro
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • 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 Layton, with the one closest to Layton 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
    • 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
    • Confluence
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • 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
    • Lavansville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Lavansville is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavansville
    • Casselman
      (30 miles [48.3 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
      (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 Layton, with the one closest to Layton listed first.
    • Allenport
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • California
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Dunlevy
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Elco
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Elco is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elco
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
    • 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
    • Stockdale
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Twilight
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Twilight is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilight
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 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 southwest)
      • Blainsburg is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blainsburg
    • Charleroi
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Coal Center
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • 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
  • Westmoreland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Layton, with the one closest to Layton listed first.
    • Smithton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Hawkeye
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Hawkeye is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkeye
    • Scottdale
      (7 miles [11.3 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
    • 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
    • West Newton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Yukon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Gibsonton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Gibsonton is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonton
    • 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
    • Iron Bridge
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Iron Bridge is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Bridge
    • 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>
    • Monessen
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Monongalia County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Layton, with the one closest to Layton 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 Layton, with the one closest to Layton 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
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Layton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Layton.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Layton, with the one closest to Layton 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)
  • Hoffman Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 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>
  • St. Timothys Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Bowman - Flatwoods Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Dickerson Run - Union Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Sacred Heart RC Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Cochran Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • East Salem Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Mt. Auburn Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Auburn Cemetery
    • The Mt. Auburn Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Fayette City Cemetery
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (399 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>

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

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

  • Fuller
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Fuller is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
  • Perryopolis
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Banning
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Banning is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banning
  • Whitsett
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Whitsett is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitsett
  • Curfew
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Curfew is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curfew
  • Jacobs Creek
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jacobs Creek is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacobs Creek
  • Redstone
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Redstone is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redstone
  • Smithton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Flatwoods
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Flatwoods is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatwoods
  • Dickerson Run
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Dickerson Run is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickerson Run
  • Dawson
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Woodglen
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Woodglen is located in Fayette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodglen
  • Continue List   (24 more) ...
    • Fitz Henry
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Fitz Henry is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitz Henry
    • Vanderbilt
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Port Royal
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Port Royal is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Royal

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

Newspapers Published in Layton ...

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 78 newspapers that have been published in the area around Layton.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Layton, 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 Layton.

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 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 Layton:

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