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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 Mineral Spring (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 Mineral Spring. 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 Mineral Spring ...

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 Mineral Spring: Mineral Spg. (or less commonly used: Mineral Spng. or Mineral Sprng.)

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Mineral Spring. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Mineral Spring.

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 northeast 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 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.

Mineral Spring 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 Mineral Spring. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Mineral Spring:

  • Somerset County     (The home county of Mineral Spring)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mineral Spring, with the one closest to Mineral Spring listed first.
    • Beachdale
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Beachdale is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beachdale
    • Pine Hill
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Pine Hill is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Hill
    • Althouse
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Althouse is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Althouse
    • Berlin
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hays Mill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Hays Mill is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hays Mill
    • Garrett
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Glade City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Glade City is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade City
    • Milford
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Milford is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford
    • Meyersdale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • West Meyersdale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • West Meyersdale is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Meyersdale
    • Boswell
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Downey
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Downey is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downey
    • Summit Mills
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Summit Mills is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Mills
  • Bedford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mineral Spring, with the one closest to Mineral Spring listed first.
    • Hyndman
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Kegg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Kegg is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kegg
    • Stringtown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Stringtown is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
    • Cooks Mills
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Cooks Mills is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Mills
    • Schellsburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Manns Choice
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Beans Cove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Beans Cove is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Cove
    • New Paris
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Rainsburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Rainsburg is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
    • Charlesville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Charlesville is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlesville
    • Wolfsburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Wolfsburg is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfsburg
    • Bedford
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Pleasantville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Pleasantville is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasantville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 205 people
  • Cambria County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mineral Spring, with the one closest to Mineral Spring listed first.
    • Ingleside
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Ingleside is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleside
    • Scalp Level
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Scalp Level is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scalp Level
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 691 people
    • Ferndale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Belmont
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Belmont is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
    • Elim
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Elim is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elim
    • Geistown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Geistown is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geistown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,242 people
    • Lorain
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Lorain is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorain
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 680 people
    • Dale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Dale is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,110 people
    • Southmont
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Southmont is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southmont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,048 people
    • Westmont
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Westmont is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westmont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,625 people
    • Brownstown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Conemaugh
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Conemaugh is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conemaugh
    • Daisytown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • 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 Mineral Spring, with the one closest to Mineral Spring listed first.
    • Seven Springs
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Champion
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Indian Head
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Indian Head is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Head
    • White
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • White is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
    • Markleysburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Ohiopyle
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Bear Rocks
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Bear Rocks is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Rocks
    • Laurelville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Laurelville is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelville
    • Farmington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Westmoreland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mineral Spring, with the one closest to Mineral Spring listed first.
    • Laughlintown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Laurel Mountain
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • 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
    • Rector
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Donegal
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Stahlstown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Ligonier
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Oak Grove
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Oak Grove is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Darlington
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Darlington is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darlington
  • Allegany County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mineral Spring, with the one closest to Mineral Spring listed first.
    • Mount Savage
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Zihlman
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Zihlman is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zihlman
    • Barrelville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Barrelville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrelville
    • Frostburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Ellerslie
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Ellerslie is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellerslie
    • Clarysville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Clarysville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarysville
    • Eckhart Mines
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Eckhart Mines is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eckhart Mines
    • Midlothian
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Midlothian is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midlothian
    • Corriganville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Corriganville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corriganville
    • Mount Savage Junction
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Mount Savage Junction is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Savage Junction
    • Borden Shaft
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Borden Shaft is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Shaft
    • La Vale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Klondike
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Klondike is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klondike
  • Garrett County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mineral Spring, with the one closest to Mineral Spring listed first.
    • Grantsville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Avilton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Avilton is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avilton
    • Bittinger
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Accident
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Friendsville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Bloomington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Bloomington is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
    • McHenry
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Mineral County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mineral Spring, with the one closest to Mineral Spring listed first.
    • Carpendale
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Carpendale is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpendale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 900 people
    • Ridgeley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Wiley Ford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Short Gap
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Short Gap is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Gap
    • Piedmont
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Fort Ashby
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Mineral Spring ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mineral Spring.

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 Mineral Spring - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Mt. Zion Reformed Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Zion Reformed Cemetery
    • The Mt. Zion Reformed Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Hays Reformed Cemetery
    • Mt. Zion - Hays Cemetery
    • Mt. Zion United Church of Christ (UCC) Cemetery
  • Garrett Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Highland Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Reformed Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Pike Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Union Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Lebanon Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Listie Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Pugh Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Union Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (190 more) ...
    • Husband Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Mispah Lutheran Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mispah Lutheran Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Mispah Lutheran Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the west of Shanksville.
      • The Mispah Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Mispah Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2188400 <2>
    • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)

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, Mineral Spring had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Beachdale
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Beachdale is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beachdale
  • Shober
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Shober is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shober
  • Pine Hill
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Pine Hill is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Hill
  • Pine Hill Station
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Pine Hill Station is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Hill Station
  • Hays Mill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Hays Mill is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hays Mill
  • Berlin
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Garrett
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Salisbury Junction
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Salisbury Junction is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury Junction
  • West Meyersdale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • West Meyersdale is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Meyersdale
  • Meyersdale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Shamrock
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Shamrock is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shamrock
  • Summit Mills
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Summit Mills is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Mills
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Shaw Mines
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Shaw Mines is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw Mines
    • Sand Patch
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Sand Patch is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Patch
    • Downey
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Downey is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downey

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

Newspapers Published in Mineral Spring ...

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 26 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mineral Spring.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Mineral Spring, 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 Mineral Spring.

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 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 Mineral Spring:

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