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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 Manchester Beach (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 Manchester Beach. 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.

Name Variations for Manchester Beach ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Manchester Beach: Manchester Bch.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Manchester Beach is located in Erie 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 Erie County: Chautauqua (NY), Ashtabula (OH), Crawford (OH) & Warren (OH).

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

  • Erie County     (The home county of Manchester Beach)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Manchester Beach, with the one closest to Manchester Beach listed first.
    • Avonia
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Avonia is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avonia
    • Lakewood
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Lakewood is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood
    • West Millcreek
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • West Millcreek is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Millcreek
    • Borough of Fairview
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Girard
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Girard is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girard
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,897 people
    • Lake City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Lake City is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,836 people
    • Kearsarge
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Kearsarge is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kearsarge
    • McKean
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • McKean is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKean
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 366 people
      • McKean has also been known as:
      • Middleboro
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McKean <1>
    • Erie
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Erie is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 95,077 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Erie <1>
    • Francis
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Francis is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Francis
    • Little Elk
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Little Elk is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Elk
    • Franklin Center
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Platea
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Platea is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platea
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 397 people
  • Crawford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Manchester Beach, with the one closest to Manchester Beach listed first.
    • Crossingville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Crossingville is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crossingville
    • Springboro Station
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Springboro Station is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springboro Station
    • Springboro
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Mosiertown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Mosiertown is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mosiertown
    • Venango
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Cambridge Springs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Conneautville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Woodcock
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Woodcock is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodcock
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
    • Coons Corners
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Coons Corners is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coons Corners
    • Norrisville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Norrisville is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norrisville
    • Saegertown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Saegertown is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saegertown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 938 people
    • Brown Hill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Brown Hill is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brown Hill
    • Dicksonburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Dicksonburg is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dicksonburg
  • Chautauqua County (NY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Manchester Beach, with the one closest to Manchester Beach listed first.
    • Findley Lake
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • French Creek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • French Creek is located in Chautauqua County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Creek
    • Ripley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Ashtabula County (OH)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Manchester Beach, with the one closest to Manchester Beach listed first.
    • Conneaut
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Conneaut is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conneaut
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,237 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Conneaut <1>
    • Kelloggsville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Kelloggsville is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelloggsville
    • North Kingsville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Kingsville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Edgewood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Edgewood is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewood
    • Gould
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Gould is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould

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

Cemeteries Near Manchester Beach ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Manchester Beach.

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 Manchester Beach - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Calvary Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Ruhl Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Laurel Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Trinity Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • St. Francis Xavier Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Valley Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Cemetery
    • The Valley Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Dunn Valley Cemetery
    • Tallmadge Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #46556 <2>
  • Francis Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Golden Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Erie Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Erie Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Erie.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #44764 <2>
  • Continue List   (98 more) ...
    • St. Nicholas Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Lakeside Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Sharpes Corners Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharpes Corners Cemetery
      • The Sharpes Corners Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Sharpe Cemetery

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

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

  • Avonia
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Avonia is located in Erie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avonia
  • Swanville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Swanville is located in Erie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swanville
  • Borough of Fairview
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • West Millcreek
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • West Millcreek is located in Erie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Millcreek
  • Sterrettania
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Sterrettania is located in Erie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterrettania
  • Girard
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Girard is located in Erie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girard
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,897 people
  • Dock Junction
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Dock Junction is located in Erie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dock Junction
  • McKean
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • McKean is located in Erie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKean
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 366 people
    • McKean has also been known as:
    • Middleboro
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McKean <1>
  • Kearsarge
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Kearsarge is located in Erie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kearsarge
  • Girard Junction
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Girard Junction is located in Erie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girard Junction
  • Little Elk
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Little Elk is located in Erie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Elk
  • Francis
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Francis is located in Erie County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Francis
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Erie
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Erie is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 95,077 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Erie <1>
    • Thornton Junction
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Thornton Junction is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornton Junction
    • Platea
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Platea is located in Erie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platea
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 397 people

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

Newspapers Published in Manchester Beach ...

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 180 newspapers that have been published in the area around Manchester Beach.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Manchester Beach, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Manchester Beach.

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 Manchester Beach:

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 Manchester Beach, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Manchester Beach) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.