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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 Monessen (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 Monessen. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

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

  • Westmoreland County     (The home county of Monessen)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Monessen, with the one closest to Monessen listed first.
    • Gibsonton
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Gibsonton is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonton
    • North Belle Vernon
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • North Belle Vernon is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Belle Vernon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,842 people
    • Webster
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Webster is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
    • Smithton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Sutersville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • West Newton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Blackburn ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Blackburn is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn
    • Wyano
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Wyano is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyano
    • Shaner
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Shaner is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaner
    • Herminie
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Yukon
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Madison
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Rillton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Allegheny County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Monessen, with the one closest to Monessen listed first.
    • Sunny Side
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Sunny Side is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Side
    • Elizabeth
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • West Elizabeth
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Clairton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Buena Vista
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Buena Vista is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
    • Jefferson Hills
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Jefferson Hills is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,136 people
      • Jefferson Hills has also been known as:
      • Jefferson
    • Lincoln
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Lincoln is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,013 people
    • Mendelssohn
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Mendelssohn is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mendelssohn
    • Cochrans Mill
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Cochrans Mill is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrans Mill
    • Boston
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Coal Valley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Coal Valley is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Valley
    • Versailles
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Versailles is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Versailles
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,452 people
    • Library
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Monessen, with the one closest to Monessen listed first.
    • Belle Vernon
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Lynnwood
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Lynnwood is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynnwood
    • Arnold City
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Arnold City is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold City
    • Fairhope
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Fairhope is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhope
    • Brownstown
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Brownstown is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownstown
    • Fayette City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Fayette City is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 569 people
    • Newell
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Newell is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 492 people
    • Chamouni
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Chamouni is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamouni
    • Kenneth
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Kenneth is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenneth
    • Redstone
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Redstone is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redstone
    • Banning
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Banning is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banning
    • Whitsett
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Whitsett is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitsett
    • Fuller
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Fuller is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Monessen, with the one closest to Monessen listed first.
    • Clarksville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Rices Landing
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Chartiers
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Chartiers is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartiers
    • Stringtown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Stringtown is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
    • Cumberland Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Cumberland Village is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
    • Jefferson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jefferson is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
    • Carmichaels
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Fairdale
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Fairdale is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
    • Nemacolin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Nemacolin is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nemacolin
    • Lippincott
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Lippincott is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lippincott
    • Ceylon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Ceylon is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceylon
    • Khedive
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Khedive is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Khedive
    • West Union
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • West Union is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Union
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Monessen, with the one closest to Monessen listed first.
    • Charleroi
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • North Charleroi
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • North Charleroi is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Charleroi
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,258 people
    • Black Diamond
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Black Diamond is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Diamond
    • Donora
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Donora is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donora
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,546 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Donora <1>
    • Dunlevy
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Twilight
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Twilight is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilight
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
    • Monongahela
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Riverview
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Riverview is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
    • Long Branch
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Long Branch is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 431 people
    • Roscoe
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Roscoe is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roscoe
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 791 people
    • Allenport
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Elco
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Elco is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elco
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
    • Lover
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Lover is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lover

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

Cemeteries Near Monessen ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Monessen.

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

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

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

  • Grandview Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Holy Name Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • St. Hyacinth Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Charleroi Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Gibson Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Ohar Sholom Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • St. Domanick Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Memorial Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • St. Michaels Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Belle Vernon Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Gilmore Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (442 more) ...
    • Sacred Heart Cemetery
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Horseshoe Bend Cemetery
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Havely Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)

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 Monessen in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Monessen.

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

  • Charleroi
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Gibsonton
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Gibsonton is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonton
  • Black Diamond
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Black Diamond is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Diamond
  • Belle Vernon
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Sunny Side
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Sunny Side is located in Allegheny County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Side
  • Manown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Manown is located in Allegheny County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manown
  • Roscoe
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Roscoe is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roscoe
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 791 people
  • Riverview
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Riverview is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
  • Webster
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Webster is located in Westmoreland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
  • Monongahela
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Lover
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Lover is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lover
  • Stockdale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Elco
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Elco is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elco
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
    • Speers
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Speers is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speers
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,061 people
    • Allenport
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Monessen ...

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 71 newspapers that have been published in the area around Monessen.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Monessen. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Monessen and those printed in the larger area surrounding Monessen.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<4> of Monessen.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Monessen:

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 Monessen, 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 from Point A (ie- Monessen) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.