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 Napier (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 Napier. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Napier is located in Bedford 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 Bedford County: Allegany (MD), Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon & Somerset.
Below are the counties that are near Napier. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Napier:
- Bedford County (The home county of Napier)
- The following are listed by their distance from Napier, with the one closest to Napier listed first.
- Wolfsburg
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Wolfsburg is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfsburg
- Manns Choice
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Cliffs ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Cliffs is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffs
- Yount
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Yount is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yount
- Schellsburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- New Paris
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Bedford
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Penn Wood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Penn Wood is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penn Wood
- Saint Clairsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Clairsville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clairsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 75 people
- Charlesville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Charlesville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlesville
- Ott Town
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ott Town is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ott Town
- Mount Dallas
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Mount Dallas is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Dallas
- Pleasantville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Pleasantville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasantville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 205 people
- Blair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Napier, with the one closest to Napier listed first.
- Cotton Town
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Cotton Town is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Town
- Claysburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Blue Knob
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Blue Knob is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Knob
- Roaring Spring
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- East Sharpsburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- East Sharpsburg is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sharpsburg
- Martinsburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Puzzletown
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Puzzletown is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puzzletown
- Clover Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Clover Creek is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Creek
- Brooks Mill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Brooks Mill is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks Mill
- Newry
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Duncansville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Hollidaysburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Beavertown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Beavertown is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beavertown
- Cambria County
- The following are listed by their distance from Napier, with the one closest to Napier listed first.
- Dunlo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Dunlo is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlo
- Beaverdale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Beaverdale is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaverdale
- Salix
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Salix is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salix
- Scalp Level
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Scalp Level is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scalp Level
- Population from the 2020 Census: 691 people
- Puritan
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Puritan is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puritan
- Sidman
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Ingleside
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Ingleside is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleside
- Saint Michael
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Michael is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Michael
- Portage
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Spring Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Spring Hill is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
- Belmont
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Belmont is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
- Geistown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Geistown is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geistown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,242 people
- Bens Creek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Bens Creek is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bens Creek
- Fulton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Napier, with the one closest to Napier listed first.
- Crystal Spring
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Crystal Spring is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Spring
- Emmaville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Emmaville is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmaville
- Akersville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Akersville is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akersville
- Valley-Hi
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Valley-Hi is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley-Hi
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15 people
- Wells Tannery
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Wells Tannery is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells Tannery
- Sipes Mill
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Sipes Mill is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipes Mill
- Pleasant Ridge
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Ridge is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Ridge
- Dott
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Dott is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dott
- Laidig
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Laidig is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laidig
- Needmore
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Harrisonville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Harrisonville is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisonville
- Waterfall
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Covalt
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Covalt is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covalt
- Huntingdon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Napier, with the one closest to Napier listed first.
- Coalmont
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Coalmont is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalmont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
- Middletown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Middletown is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middletown
- Dudley
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Dudley is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dudley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 176 people
- Broad Top City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Broad Top City is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broad Top City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 443 people
- Robertsdale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Robertsdale is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robertsdale
- Cooks
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cooks is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks
- Entriken
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Salter
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Salter is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salter
- Joller ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Joller is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joller
- Kimmel
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Kimmel is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimmel
- Rocky Ridge ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rocky Ridge is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ridge
- Todd
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Todd is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Todd
- Coles ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Coles is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coles
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Napier, with the one closest to Napier listed first.
- New Baltimore
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- New Baltimore is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Baltimore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 167 people
- Ogletown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Ogletown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogletown
- Central City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Buckstown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Buckstown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckstown
- Indian Lake
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Indian Lake is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 375 people
- Downey
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Downey is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downey
- Forward
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Forward is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forward
- Fairhope
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Shanksville
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Windber
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Johnsburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Blough
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Blough is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blough
- Hooversville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Hooversville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooversville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 589 people
- Allegany County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Napier, with the one closest to Napier listed first.
- Flintstone
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Ellerslie
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Ellerslie is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellerslie
- Rush
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Rush is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rush
- Corriganville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Corriganville is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corriganville
- Mount Savage Junction
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Savage Junction is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Savage Junction
- Barrelville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Barrelville is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrelville
- Cumberland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Town Creek ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Town Creek is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town Creek
- Little Orleans
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Shanty Town ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Shanty Town is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanty Town
- La Vale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Savage
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Washington County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Napier, with the one closest to Napier listed first.
- Hancock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pearre
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pearre is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearre
- Mineral County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Napier, with the one closest to Napier listed first.
- Ridgeley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Wiley Ford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Carpendale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Carpendale is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpendale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 900 people
- Morgan County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Napier, with the one closest to Napier listed first.
- Doe Gully
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Doe Gully is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doe Gully
- Orleans Cross Roads
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Orleans Cross Roads is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans Cross Roads
- Hancock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hancock is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancock
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Napier, see our County-by-County Page for Napier.
Cemeteries Near Napier ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Napier.
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 Napier - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Napier covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Napier, with the one closest to Napier listed first.
- Bedford Memorial Gardens
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Fishertown Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Schellsburg Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schellsburg Cemetery
- The Schellsburg Cemetery has also been known as:
- Chestnut Ridge Cemetery
- Old Log Church Cemetery
- Union Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1964953 <2>
- Hershberger Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Ritchey Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Friends Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Indian Springs Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Old Union Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Everett Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Burger Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hetrick Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Camp Run Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (195 more) ...
- Steele Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Fellowship & Union Cemeteries
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- St. Pauls Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Pauls Cemetery
- The St. Pauls Cemetery has also been known as:
- Yellow Creek Reformed Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #46229 <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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Napier had a population of 99 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Napier, with the one closest to Napier listed first.
- Wolfsburg
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Wolfsburg is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfsburg
- Manns Choice
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Belden
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Belden is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belden
- Point
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Point is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point
- Cliffs ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Cliffs is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffs
- Cessna
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cessna is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cessna
- Schellsburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Bedford
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Hartley
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Hartley is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartley
- Springhope
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Springhope is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springhope
- New Paris
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Fishertown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Burning Bush
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Burning Bush is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burning Bush
- Charlesville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Charlesville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlesville
- Lutzville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Lutzville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lutzville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Napier. See our List of 1890's Communities around Napier.
Newspapers Published in Napier ...
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 41 newspapers that have been published in the area around Napier.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Napier, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Napier.
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 Napier:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Bedford County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blair County
- Cambria County
- Fulton County
- Huntingdon County
- Somerset County
- Allegany County
- Washington County
- Mineral County
- Morgan 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 Napier, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Napier) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |