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 McWilliams (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 McWilliams. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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.
McWilliams is located in Armstrong 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 Armstrong County: Allegheny, Butler, Clarion, Indiana, Jefferson & Westmoreland.
Below are the counties that are near McWilliams. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to McWilliams:
- Armstrong County (The home county of McWilliams)
- The following are listed by their distance from McWilliams, with the one closest to McWilliams listed first.
- Eddyville
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Eddyville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eddyville
- Putneyville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Putneyville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putneyville
- Millville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Millville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millville
- South Bethlehem
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- South Bethlehem is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bethlehem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 443 people
- Dayton
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Muff
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Muff is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muff
- Deanville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Deanville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deanville
- Echo
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Echo is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
- Barnards
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Barnards is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnards
- Bryan
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Bryan is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan
- Oscar
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Oscar is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oscar
- Dee
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Dee is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dee
- Rural Valley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from McWilliams, with the one closest to McWilliams listed first.
- Kepples Corners
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Kepples Corners is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kepples Corners
- Karns City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Petrolia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Petrolia is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petrolia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Bruin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Bruin is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 489 people
- Chicora
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Fairview
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Fairview is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 186 people
- Fenelton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Millerstown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Millerstown is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerstown
- Saint Joe
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Saint Joe is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Joe
- Dennys Mills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Dennys Mills is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennys Mills
- Leasureville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Leasureville is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leasureville
- North Oakland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- North Oakland is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Oakland
- Monroe
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Monroe is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
- Cambria County
- Garmantown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Garmantown is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garmantown
- Clarion County
- The following are listed by their distance from McWilliams, with the one closest to McWilliams listed first.
- Hawthorn
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Fairmont City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- New Bethlehem
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Leatherwood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Leatherwood is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherwood
- Brinkerton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Brinkerton is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brinkerton
- Crates
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Crates is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crates
- Frogtown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Frogtown is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frogtown
- Piolett
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Piolett is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piolett
- Lawsonham
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Lawsonham is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonham
- Curllsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Curllsville is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curllsville
- Mechanicsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Mechanicsville is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsville
- Reidsburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Reidsburg is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reidsburg
- Rimersburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Clearfield County
- The following are listed by their distance from McWilliams, with the one closest to McWilliams listed first.
- Stanley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Stanley is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanley
- Troutville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Troutville is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troutville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Helvetia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Helvetia is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helvetia
- Sandy
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Sandy is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy
- Burnside
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Burnside is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnside
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- DuBois
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Luthersburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Mahaffey
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Bower
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Bower is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bower
- Curry Run
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Curry Run is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curry Run
- New Washington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- New Washington is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Washington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
- Newburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Newburg is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
- Elk County
- Millstone
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Millstone is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millstone
- Forest County
- The following are listed by their distance from McWilliams, with the one closest to McWilliams listed first.
- Clarington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Redclyffe
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Redclyffe is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redclyffe
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from McWilliams, with the one closest to McWilliams listed first.
- Smicksburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Trade City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Trade City is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trade City
- Beyer
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Beyer is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beyer
- Georgeville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Georgeville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgeville
- Plumville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Plumville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 286 people
- Elkin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Elkin is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkin
- Mottarns Mill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Mottarns Mill is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mottarns Mill
- Marchand
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Marchand is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marchand
- Ambrose
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ambrose is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ambrose
- Davis
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Davis is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
- Willet
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Willet is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willet
- Savan
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Savan is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savan
- Home
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Home is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from McWilliams, with the one closest to McWilliams listed first.
- Langville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Langville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langville
- Pansy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pansy is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pansy
- Timblin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Timblin is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timblin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
- Worthville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Worthville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
- Ohl
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ohl is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ohl
- Summerville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Summerville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 501 people
- Coolspring
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Oliveburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Oliveburg is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oliveburg
- Valier
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Valier is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valier
- Baxter
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Baxter is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
- Green Valley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Green Valley is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Valley
- Punxsutawney
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Albion
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Albion is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Lawrence County
- Big Run
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Big Run is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Run
- Population from the 2020 Census: 594 people
- Venango County
- Nickleville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Nickleville is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nickleville
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from McWilliams, with the one closest to McWilliams listed first.
- Bagdad
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bagdad is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagdad
- Hyde Park
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- West Leechburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- West Leechburg is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leechburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,211 people
- East Vandergrift
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- East Vandergrift is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Vandergrift
- Population from the 2020 Census: 631 people
- Vandergrift
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to McWilliams, see our County-by-County Page for McWilliams.
Cemeteries Near McWilliams ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of McWilliams.
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 McWilliams - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for McWilliams covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from McWilliams, with the one closest to McWilliams listed first.
- Oakland Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- New Bethlehem Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Jerusalem Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dayton Glad Run Presbyterian Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Zion Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Paradise Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Smith Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Smicksburg Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- White Church Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Perry Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Coolspring Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coolspring Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Coolspring Cemetery is located outside and to the south of Coolspring.
- Conifer Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (171 more) ...
- St. Nicholas Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Mateer Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Carrier Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrier Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Carrier Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<3> to the southeast of Summerville.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #44528 <2>
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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, McWilliams had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from McWilliams, with the one closest to McWilliams listed first.
- Eddyville
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Eddyville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eddyville
- Putneyville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Putneyville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putneyville
- Porter
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Porter is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
- Dora
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Dora is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dora
- Ringgold
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Ringgold is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ringgold
- North Freedom
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- North Freedom is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Freedom
- Fairmont City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- New Bethlehem
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Belknap
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Belknap is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belknap
- Dayton
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Truittsburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Truittsburg is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truittsburg
- Loop
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Loop is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loop
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Langville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Langville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langville
- Goheenville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Goheenville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goheenville
- Muff
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Muff is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muff
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around McWilliams. See our List of 1890's Communities around McWilliams.
Newspapers Published in McWilliams ...
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 20 newspapers that have been published in the area around McWilliams.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of McWilliams, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for McWilliams.
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 McWilliams:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Armstrong County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Butler County
- Cambria County
- Clarion County
- Clearfield County
- Elk County
- Forest County
- Indiana County
- Jefferson County
- Lawrence County
- Venango County
- Westmoreland 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> | 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- McWilliams) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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 McWilliams, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |