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 Mechesneytown (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 Mechesneytown. 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 and 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.
Mechesneytown is located in Westmoreland 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 Westmoreland County: Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler, Cambria, Fayette, Indiana & Somerset.
Below are the counties that are near Mechesneytown. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Mechesneytown:
- Westmoreland County (The home county of Mechesneytown)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mechesneytown, with the one closest to Mechesneytown listed first.
- McChesneytown - Loyalhanna
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Kingston
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Kingston is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
- Latrobe
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Youngstown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Lawson Heights
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lawson Heights is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawson Heights
- Derry
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Derry is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derry
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,495 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Derry <1>
- New Derry
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Manito
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Manito is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manito
- Beatty
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Beatty is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beatty
- Darlington
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Darlington is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darlington
- Crabtree
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- New Alexandria
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Luxor
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Luxor is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luxor
- Allegheny County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mechesneytown, with the one closest to Mechesneytown listed first.
- Pitcairn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Buena Vista
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Buena Vista is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Garden City
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Garden City is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Monroeville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Wall
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Wall is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 553 people
- Leechburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Leechburg is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leechburg
- New Texas
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- New Texas is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Texas
- Plum
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Plum is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum
- Population from the 2020 Census: 26,993 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plum <1>
- Boston
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- East McKeesport
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- North Versailles
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Versailles
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Versailles is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Versailles
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,452 people
- White Oak
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Armstrong County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mechesneytown, with the one closest to Mechesneytown listed first.
- Edmon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Edmon is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmon
- Olivet
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Olivet is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
- Orchard Hills
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Orchard Hills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
- Spring Church
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Apollo
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- North Apollo
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cochrans Mills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Cochrans Mills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrans Mills
- Leechburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Elderton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Neale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Neale is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neale
- Tunnelville ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Tunnelville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnelville
- Whitesburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Whitesburg is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesburg
- Aladdin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Aladdin is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aladdin
- Cambria County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mechesneytown, with the one closest to Mechesneytown listed first.
- Elim
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Elim is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elim
- Westmont
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Westmont is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westmont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,625 people
- Brownstown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Cambria City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Cambria City is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambria City
- Lilly
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Lilly is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilly
- Population from the 2020 Census: 873 people
- Southmont
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Southmont is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southmont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,048 people
- Wilmore
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Conemaugh
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Conemaugh is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conemaugh
- Dale
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Dale is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,110 people
- Ferndale
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Johnstown
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Belmont
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Belmont is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
- Daisytown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Daisytown is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisytown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 290 people
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mechesneytown, with the one closest to Mechesneytown listed first.
- Laurelville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Laurelville is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelville
- Bear Rocks
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bear Rocks is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Rocks
- Champion
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- White
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- White is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Everson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Everson is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
- Indian Head
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Indian Head is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Head
- Seven Springs
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Connellsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Banning
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Banning is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banning
- Dawson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Dickerson Run
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Dickerson Run is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickerson Run
- Fuller
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Fuller is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Lynn
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lynn is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mechesneytown, with the one closest to Mechesneytown listed first.
- Blairsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bow
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Bow is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow
- White
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- White is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Robinson
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Robinson is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
- Black Lick
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Black Lick is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Lick
- Josephine
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Josephine is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Josephine
- Palmertown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Clarksburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Jacksonville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Jacksonville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
- Coral
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Graceton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Graceton is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graceton
- Aultman
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Aultman is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aultman
- Heshbon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Heshbon is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heshbon
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mechesneytown, with the one closest to Mechesneytown listed first.
- Laurel Mountain Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Jennerstown
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Roytown
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Roytown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roytown
- Jenners Crossroads
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Jenners Crossroads is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenners Crossroads
- Thomas Mill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Thomas Mill is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Mill
- Bakersville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Bakersville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
- Jenners
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jenners is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenners
- Sipesville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Sipesville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipesville
- Jerome
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Jerome is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerome
- Davidsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Hollsopple
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Gideon
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Gideon is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gideon
- Husband
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Husband is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Husband
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mechesneytown, with the one closest to Mechesneytown listed first.
- Donora
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Black Diamond
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Black Diamond is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Diamond
- Twilight
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Twilight is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilight
- Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
- Monongahela
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Riverview
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Riverview is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Mechesneytown, see our County-by-County Page for Mechesneytown.
Cemeteries Near Mechesneytown ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mechesneytown.
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 Mechesneytown - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Mechesneytown covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Mechesneytown, with the one closest to Mechesneytown listed first.
- Rose Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- St. Vincent Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- St. James Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Coles Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Unity Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unity Cemetery
- The Unity Cemetery has also been known as:
- Unity Presbyterian Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #46551 <2>
- St. Xavier Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Shirey Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Keltz Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Carmel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Calvary Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (309 more) ...
- Union Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Craig Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- St. Lukes Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
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 Mechesneytown in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Mechesneytown.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Mechesneytown, with the one closest to Mechesneytown listed first.
- Loyalhanna
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Loyalhanna is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyalhanna
- Osburn
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Osburn is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osburn
- Kingston
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Kingston is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
- Bradenville
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Bradenville is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradenville
- Latrobe
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Youngstown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Beatty
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Beatty is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beatty
- Manito
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Manito is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manito
- Hostetter
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hostetter is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hostetter
- New Derry
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- McCance
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- McCance is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCance
- Millwood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Millwood is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millwood
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Carney
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Carney is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carney
- Denison
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Denison is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denison
- Whitney
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Whitney is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Mechesneytown. See our List of 1890's Communities around Mechesneytown.
Newspapers Published in Mechesneytown ...
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 56 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mechesneytown.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Mechesneytown, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Mechesneytown.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Mechesneytown:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Westmoreland County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegheny County
- Armstrong County
- Cambria County
- Fayette County
- Indiana County
- Somerset County
- Washington 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 Mechesneytown, 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' (or 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- Mechesneytown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |