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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 Metzler (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 Metzler. 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 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.

Metzler is located in Somerset 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 Somerset County: Allegany (MD), Garrett (MD), Bedford, Cambria, Fayette & Westmoreland.

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

  • Somerset County     (The home county of Metzler)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Metzler, with the one closest to Metzler listed first.
    • New Lexington
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • New Lexington is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lexington
    • New Centerville
      (4 miles [6.4 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
    • Casselman
      (4 miles [6.4 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
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Rockwood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Draketown
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Draketown is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draketown
    • Confluence
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Milford
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Milford is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford
    • Bakersville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Bakersville is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
    • Lavansville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Lavansville is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavansville
    • Listonburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Listonburg is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Listonburg
    • Garrett
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Addison
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Bedford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Metzler, with the one closest to Metzler listed first.
    • Hyndman
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Kegg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Kegg is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kegg
    • Cooks Mills
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Cooks Mills is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Mills
    • Stringtown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Stringtown is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Metzler, with the one closest to Metzler listed first.
    • Seven Springs
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Indian Head
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Indian Head is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Head
    • Champion
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Ohiopyle
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • White
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • White is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
    • Markleysburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • South Connellsville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Bear Rocks
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Bear Rocks is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Rocks
    • Farmington
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Washington
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Mount Washington is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Washington
    • Connellsville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Laurelville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Laurelville is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelville
    • Dunbar
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • Westmoreland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Metzler, with the one closest to Metzler listed first.
    • Donegal
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Stahlstown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Rector
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Iron Bridge
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Iron Bridge is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Bridge
    • Mount Joy
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Mount Joy is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Joy
    • Laughlintown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Laurel Mountain
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Laurel Mountain is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Mountain
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 153 people
      • Laurel Mountain has also been known as:
      • Laurel Mountain Park
    • Kecksburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Kecksburg is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kecksburg
    • Scottdale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • West Overton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • West Overton is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Overton
    • Hawkeye
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Hawkeye is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkeye
    • Mount Pleasant
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Alverton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Alverton is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alverton
  • Allegany County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Metzler, with the one closest to Metzler listed first.
    • Frostburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Midlothian
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Midlothian is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midlothian
    • Mount Savage
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Zihlman
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Zihlman is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zihlman
    • Barrelville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Barrelville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrelville
    • Borden Shaft
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Borden Shaft is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Shaft
    • Eckhart Mines
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Eckhart Mines is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eckhart Mines
    • Klondike
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Klondike is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klondike
    • Woodland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Woodland is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
    • Clarysville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Clarysville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarysville
    • Midland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Midland is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
    • Ocean
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Ocean is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean
    • Gilmore
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Gilmore is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore
  • Garrett County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Metzler, with the one closest to Metzler listed first.
    • Grantsville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Friendsville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Accident
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Bittinger
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Avilton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Avilton is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avilton
    • McHenry
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
  • Preston County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Metzler, with the one closest to Metzler listed first.
    • Hazelton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Clifton Mills
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Clifton Mills is located in Preston County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton Mills
    • Brandonville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Brandonville is located in Preston County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandonville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
    • Bruceton Mills
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Little Sandy
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Little Sandy is located in Preston County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Sandy
    • Morgans Glade
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Morgans Glade is located in Preston County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgans Glade
    • Orr
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Orr is located in Preston County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orr
    • Lenox
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Lenox is located in Preston County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenox
    • Rockville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Rockville is located in Preston County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville

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

Cemeteries Near Metzler ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Metzler.

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

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

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

  • Younkin Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Old Jersey Church Turkeyfoot Baptist Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Imel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Sands Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Ursina Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Hillview Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Crossroads Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Bakersville Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Nedrow Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Scarlet Knob Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • St. Raymonds Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (210 more) ...
    • Mt. Nebo Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Sugar Grove Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Sugar Grove Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<3> to the northeast of Ohiopyle.
      • The Sugar Grove Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Maple Grove Cemetery
      • Ohiopyle Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #45346 <2>
    • St. Johns Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)

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>

While we didn't find Metzler in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Metzler.

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

  • Kingwood
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Kingwood is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingwood
  • New Lexington
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • New Lexington is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lexington
  • Barronvale
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Barronvale is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barronvale
  • Scullton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Scullton is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scullton
  • Markleton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Casselman
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Casselman is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casselman
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
  • Trent
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Trent is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trent
  • Pinkerton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Pinkerton is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinkerton
  • Gebhart
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Gebhart is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gebhart
  • Draketown
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Draketown is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draketown
  • Fort Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Rockwood
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Confluence
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Harnedsville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Harnedsville is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harnedsville
    • Shamrock
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Shamrock is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shamrock

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

Newspapers Published in Metzler ...

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 62 newspapers that have been published in the area around Metzler.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Metzler, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Metzler.

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 Metzler:

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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Metzler) 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 Metzler, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.