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 Nilan (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 Nilan. 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 doctors and 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.
Nilan is located in Fayette 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 Fayette County: Garrett (MD), Greene, Somerset, Washington, Westmoreland, Monongalia (WV) & Preston (WV).
Below are the counties that are near Nilan. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Nilan:
- Fayette County (The home county of Nilan)
- The following are listed by their distance from Nilan, with the one closest to Nilan listed first.
- Point Marion
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Morris Crossroads
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Morris Crossroads is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morris Crossroads
- New Geneva
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- New Geneva is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Geneva
- Atlantic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Atlantic is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlantic
- Winstead
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Winstead is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winstead
- Smithfield
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Fayette
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Fayette is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
- Masontown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Woodside
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Woodside is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodside
- Haydentown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Haydentown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haydentown
- Shoaf
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Shoaf is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoaf
- Highhouse
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Highhouse is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highhouse
- Fairchance
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Nilan, with the one closest to Nilan listed first.
- Dilliner
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Dilliner is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dilliner
- Greensboro
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Dunkard
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Dunkard is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunkard
- Mount Morris
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Nemacolin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Nemacolin is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nemacolin
- Ceylon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ceylon is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceylon
- Fairdale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fairdale is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
- Cumberland Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Cumberland Village is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
- Stringtown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Stringtown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Carmichaels
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Fordyce
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Fordyce is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fordyce
- Khedive
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Khedive is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Khedive
- Kirby
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Kirby is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirby
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Nilan, with the one closest to Nilan listed first.
- Addison
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Confluence
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Draketown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Draketown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draketown
- Ursina
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Ursina is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ursina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
- Listonburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Listonburg is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Listonburg
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Nilan, with the one closest to Nilan listed first.
- Fredericktown - Millsboro
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Millsboro
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Blainsburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Blainsburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blainsburg
- Deemston
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Deemston is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deemston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 696 people
- Centerville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Centerville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,133 people
- West Brownsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- West Brownsville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brownsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
- Daisytown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Beallsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Marianna
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- California
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Coal Center
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Bissell
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Bissell is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bissell
- Allenport
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Nilan, with the one closest to Nilan listed first.
- Gibsonton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Gibsonton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonton
- North Belle Vernon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- 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
- Monessen
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Scottdale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Smithton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Hawkeye
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hawkeye is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkeye
- Garrett County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Nilan, with the one closest to Nilan listed first.
- Friendsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Accident
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- McHenry
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Hutton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hutton is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutton
- Harrison County (WV)
- Enterprise
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Enterprise is located in Harrison County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
- Marion County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Nilan, with the one closest to Nilan listed first.
- Pleasant View
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant View is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Hoodsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Hoodsville is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoodsville
- Mount Harmony
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Harmony is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Harmony
- Rivesville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Grant Town
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Grant Town is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Town
- Population from the 2020 Census: 590 people
- Canton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Canton is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
- Neel ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Neel is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neel
- Barrackville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Barrackville is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrackville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,270 people
- Fairview
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Estimated population in 2021: 373 people
- Samaria
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Samaria is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samaria
- Fairmont
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Garden Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Garden Village is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Village
- Palatine
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Palatine is located in Marion County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palatine
- Monongalia County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Nilan, with the one closest to Nilan listed first.
- Canyon
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Canyon is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon
- Cheat Lake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Cheat Lake is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheat Lake
- Baker Ridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Baker Ridge is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker Ridge
- Maidsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Maidsville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maidsville
- Star City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Star City is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,984 people
- Bowlby
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Bowlby is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowlby
- Brookhaven
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Brookhaven is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookhaven
- Granville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Granville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,156 people
- Morgantown
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Osage
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Osage is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osage
- Westover
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Cassville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cassville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassville
- Laurel Point
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Laurel Point is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Point
- Preston County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Nilan, with the one closest to Nilan listed first.
- Rockville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Rockville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
- Bruceton Mills
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Masontown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Brandonville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Brandonville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
- Clifton Mills
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Clifton Mills is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton Mills
- Little Sandy
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Little Sandy is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Sandy
- Reedsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Arthurdale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Morgans Glade
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Morgans Glade is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgans Glade
- Gladesville
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Gladesville is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladesville
- Hazelton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Lenox
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Lenox is located in Preston County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenox
- Albright
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Taylor County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Nilan, with the one closest to Nilan listed first.
- Thornton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Thornton is located in Taylor County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornton
- Fetterman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Fetterman is located in Taylor County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fetterman
- Grafton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- West Grafton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- West Grafton is located in Taylor County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Grafton
- Knottsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Knottsville is located in Taylor County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knottsville
- Pruntytown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Pruntytown is located in Taylor County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pruntytown
- Oreide
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Oreide is located in Taylor County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oreide
- Wetzel County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Nilan, with the one closest to Nilan listed first.
- Round Bottom
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Round Bottom is located in Wetzel County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom
- Hundred
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Nilan, see our County-by-County Page for Nilan.
Cemeteries Near Nilan ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Nilan.
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 Nilan - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Nilan covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Nilan, with the one closest to Nilan listed first.
- Pt. Marion Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Evergreen Memorial Park
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Forks of Cheat Baptist Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Cagey Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Eden UMC Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Moriah Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Wolfs Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Ft. Martin Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Hoard Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Sunnyside Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jennewine Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Cedar Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Cedar Grove Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of Atlantic.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #44539 <2>
- Continue List (454 more) ...
- Fletcher Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Garlow Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Everley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
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 Nilan in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Nilan.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Nilan, with the one closest to Nilan listed first.
- Point Marion
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Stewartstown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Stewartstown is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewartstown
- Morris Crossroads
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Morris Crossroads is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morris Crossroads
- Dilliner
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Dilliner is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dilliner
- New Geneva
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- New Geneva is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Geneva
- Winstead
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Winstead is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winstead
- Dunkard
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Dunkard is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunkard
- Easton
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Easton is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
- Smithfield
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Mapletown
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Mapletown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapletown
- Old Frame
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Old Frame is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Frame
- Wiley
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Wiley is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiley
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Maidsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Maidsville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maidsville
- Fayette
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Fayette is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
- Bowlby
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Bowlby is located in Monongalia County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowlby
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Nilan. See our List of 1890's Communities around Nilan.
Newspapers Published in Nilan ...
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 44 newspapers that have been published in the area around Nilan.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Nilan, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Nilan.
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 either 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 Nilan:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Fayette County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Greene County
- Somerset County
- Washington County
- Westmoreland County
- Garrett County
- Harrison County
- Marion County
- Monongalia County
- Preston County
- Taylor County
- Wetzel 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 Nilan, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Nilan) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |