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 McKean (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 McKean. 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 McKean ...
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.
McKean has also been known as: Middleboro.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named McKean. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for McKean.
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.
McKean 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 McKean. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to McKean:
- Erie County (The home county of McKean)
- The following are listed by their distance from McKean, with the one closest to McKean listed first.
- West Millcreek
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- West Millcreek is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Millcreek
- Kearsarge
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Kearsarge is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kearsarge
- Franklin Center
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Lakewood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Lakewood is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood
- Francis
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Francis is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Francis
- Borough of Fairview
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Avonia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Avonia is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avonia
- Little Elk
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Little Elk is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Elk
- Edinboro
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Erie
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- LeBoeuf Garden
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- LeBoeuf Garden is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for LeBoeuf Garden
- Girard
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Girard is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,897 people
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from McKean, with the one closest to McKean listed first.
- Crossingville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Crossingville is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crossingville
- Cambridge Springs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Mosiertown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Mosiertown is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mosiertown
- Venango
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Woodcock
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Woodcock is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodcock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
- Brown Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Brown Hill is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brown Hill
- Springboro
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Springboro Station
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Springboro Station is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springboro Station
- Coons Corners
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Coons Corners is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coons Corners
- Saegertown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Saegertown is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saegertown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 938 people
- Canadohta Lake
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Canadohta Lake is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canadohta Lake
- Conneautville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Warren County
- The following are listed by their distance from McKean, with the one closest to McKean listed first.
- Colza
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Colza is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colza
- Columbus
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Chautauqua County (NY)
- The following are listed by their distance from McKean, with the one closest to McKean listed first.
- Findley Lake
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- French Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- French Creek is located in Chautauqua County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Creek
- Slab City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Slab City is located in Chautauqua County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slab City
- Ripley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- North Clymer
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- North Clymer is located in Chautauqua County (NY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Clymer
- Sherman
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Ashtabula County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from McKean, with the one closest to McKean listed first.
- Conneaut
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Kelloggsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Kelloggsville is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelloggsville
- North Kingsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Kingsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- 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 McKean, see our County-by-County Page for McKean.
Cemeteries Near McKean ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of McKean.
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 McKean - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for McKean covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from McKean, with the one closest to McKean listed first.
- Golden Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Valley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- 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>
- St. Francis Xavier Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Laurel Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Ruhl Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Sharpes Corners Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharpes Corners Cemetery
- The Sharpes Corners Cemetery has also been known as:
- Sharpe Cemetery
- Francis Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Calvary Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fairview Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- St. Nicholas Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Trinity Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Calvary Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Continue List (126 more) ...
- Erie Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- 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>
- St. Johns Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Waterford Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
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 McKean had a population of 391 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, McKean had a population of 366 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from McKean, with the one closest to McKean listed first.
- Sterrettania
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Sterrettania is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterrettania
- McLane
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- McLane is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLane
- West Millcreek
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- West Millcreek is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Millcreek
- Swanville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Swanville is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swanville
- Kearsarge
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Kearsarge is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kearsarge
- Francis
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Francis is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Francis
- Borough of Fairview
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Little Elk
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Little Elk is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Elk
- Jackson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Jackson is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson
- Godard
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Godard is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Godard
- Dock Junction
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Dock Junction is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dock Junction
- Avonia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Avonia is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avonia
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Edinboro
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Langdon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Langdon is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langdon
- Platea
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- 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 McKean. See our List of 1890's Communities around McKean.
Newspapers Published in McKean ...
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 187 newspapers that have been published in the area around McKean.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of McKean, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for McKean.
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 McKean:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Erie County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Crawford County
- Warren County
- Chautauqua County
- Ashtabula County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Pennsylvania
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 McKean, 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- McKean) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |