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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 Newtown (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 Newtown. 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 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 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.

Newtown is located in Luzerne County.

To see how the shape of Pennsylvania's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Luzerne County: Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Monroe, Schuylkill, Sullivan & Wyoming.

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

  • Luzerne County     (The home county of Newtown)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Newtown, with the one closest to Newtown listed first.
    • Mountain Grove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Tomhicken
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tomhicken. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomhicken
      • Tomhicken is located in Luzerne County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tomhicken
      • From Newtown to Tomhicken
    • Harwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Conyngham
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Conyngham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conyngham
      • Conyngham is located in Luzerne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,858 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Conyngham <3>
    • West Hazleton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for West Hazleton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hazleton
      • West Hazleton is located in Luzerne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,318 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to West Hazleton
      • From Newtown to West Hazleton
    • Nescopeck
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nescopeck have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nescopeck
      • Nescopeck is located in Luzerne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,522 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nescopeck <3>
    • Hazleton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Sybertsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • East Berwick
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Berwick have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Berwick
      • East Berwick is located in Luzerne County
    • Harleigh
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Beach Haven
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Berks County
  • Carbon County
  • Columbia County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Newtown, with the one closest to Newtown listed first.
    • Locustdale
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Locustdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locustdale
      • Locustdale is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Locustdale <3>
    • Centralia
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Aristes
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aristes have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aristes
      • Aristes is located in Columbia County
    • Newlin
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Numidia
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Slabtown
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Slabtown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slabtown
      • Slabtown is located in Columbia County
    • Queen City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Queen City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queen City
      • Queen City is located in Columbia County
    • Shumans
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Shumans. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shumans
      • Shumans is located in Columbia County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Shumans
      • From Newtown to Shumans
    • Catawissa
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Mainville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mainville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mainville
      • Mainville is located in Columbia County
    • Rupert
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rupert. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rupert
      • Rupert is located in Columbia County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rupert
      • From Newtown to Rupert
    • Bloomsburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Espy
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
  • Dauphin County
  • Lancaster County
  • Lebanon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Newtown, with the one closest to Newtown listed first.
    • Murray
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Murray. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murray
      • Murray is located in Lebanon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Murray
      • From Newtown to Murray
    • Fredericksburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fredericksburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredericksburg
      • Fredericksburg is located in Lebanon County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fredericksburg <3>
    • Greble
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Inwood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Inwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inwood
      • Inwood is located in Lebanon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Inwood
      • From Newtown to Inwood
    • Green Point
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Green Point. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Point
      • Green Point is located in Lebanon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Green Point
      • From Newtown to Green Point
    • Lickdale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lickdale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickdale
      • Lickdale is located in Lebanon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lickdale
      • From Newtown to Lickdale
    • Jonestown
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jonestown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonestown
      • Jonestown is located in Lebanon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,031 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jonestown <3>
    • Mount Zion
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mount Zion. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
      • Mount Zion is located in Lebanon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mount Zion
      • From Newtown to Mount Zion
    • Bunker Hill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bunker Hill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunker Hill
      • Bunker Hill is located in Lebanon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bunker Hill
      • From Newtown to Bunker Hill
    • Myerstown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Fort Indiantown Gap
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Avon Heights
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Avon Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon Heights
      • Avon Heights is located in Lebanon County
    • Heilmandale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
  • Lehigh County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Newtown, with the one closest to Newtown listed first.
    • Jacksonville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Stines Corner
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Montour County
  • Northumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Newtown, with the one closest to Newtown listed first.
    • Locust Gap
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Dooleyville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Carmel
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Carmel have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carmel
      • Mount Carmel is located in Northumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,708 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Carmel <3>
    • Gowen City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gowen City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowen City
      • Gowen City is located in Northumberland County
    • Natalie
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Marshallton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marshallton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshallton
      • Marshallton is located in Northumberland County
    • Bear Gap
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Bear Valley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Shamokin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Edgewood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edgewood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewood
      • Edgewood is located in Northumberland County
    • Leck Kill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Kulpmont
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kulpmont have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kulpmont
      • Kulpmont is located in Northumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,735 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kulpmont <3>
    • Elysburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elysburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elysburg
      • Elysburg is located in Northumberland County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elysburg <3>
  • Schuylkill County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Newtown, with the one closest to Newtown listed first.
    • Zerbe
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Zerbe have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zerbe
      • Zerbe is located in Schuylkill County
    • Newtown
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Branchdale
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Branchdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchdale
      • Branchdale is located in Schuylkill County
    • Tremont
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Forestville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forestville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestville
      • Forestville is located in Schuylkill County
    • Forrestville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forrestville
      • Forrestville is located in Schuylkill County
    • Llewellyn
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Donaldson
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Beurys Lake
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beurys Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beurys Lake
      • Beurys Lake is located in Schuylkill County
    • Buck Run
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buck Run have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck Run
      • Buck Run is located in Schuylkill County
    • Glendower
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • East Franklin
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Echo Valley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Snyder County

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

Cemeteries Near Newtown ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Newtown.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

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.<5>

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

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

  • Swatara
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swatara have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swatara
    • Swatara is located in Schuylkill County
  • Blackwood
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blackwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackwood
    • Blackwood is located in Schuylkill County
  • Branchdale
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Branchdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchdale
    • Branchdale is located in Schuylkill County
  • Tremont
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Steins
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Steins have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steins
    • Steins is located in Schuylkill County
  • Donaldson
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Llewellyn
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • East Franklin
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Rausch Creek
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rausch Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rausch Creek
    • Rausch Creek is located in Schuylkill County
  • Silverton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silverton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverton
    • Silverton is located in Schuylkill County
  • Glendower
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Lorberry Junction
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • De Turksville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for De Turksville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Turksville
      • De Turksville is located in Schuylkill County
    • Minersville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Minersville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minersville
      • Minersville is located in Schuylkill County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,133 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Minersville <3>
    • Heckscherville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heckscherville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heckscherville
      • Heckscherville is located in Schuylkill County

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

Newspapers Published in Newtown ...

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 90 newspapers that have been published in the area around Newtown.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Newtown, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Newtown.

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 Newtown:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Newtown. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Luzerne County: www.luzernecounty.org/

The official website for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>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 Newtown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Newtown) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Newtown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.6514, Longitude: -76.3480    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025