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 Oakland (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 Oakland. 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 doctors and hospitals 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.
Oakland is located in Cambria 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 Cambria County: Bedford, Blair, Centre, Clearfield, Indiana, Somerset & Westmoreland.
Below are the counties that are near Oakland. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oakland:
- Cambria County (The home county of Oakland)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
- Lorain
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Lorain is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 680 people
- Conemaugh
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Conemaugh is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conemaugh
- Daisytown
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Daisytown is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisytown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 290 people
- Belmont
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Belmont is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
- Geistown
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Geistown is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geistown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,242 people
- Ferndale
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Dale
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Dale is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,110 people
- East Conemaugh
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- East Conemaugh is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Conemaugh
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,090 people
- Franklin
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Franklin is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 289 people
- Johnstown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lilly
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lilly is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilly
- Population from the 2020 Census: 873 people
- Elim
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Elim is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elim
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
- Pavia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Pavia is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pavia
- Pleasantville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasantville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasantville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 205 people
- New Paris
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Osterburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- King
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- King is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King
- Schellsburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Kegg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Kegg is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kegg
- Saint Clairsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Clairsville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clairsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 75 people
- Maria
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Maria is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maria
- New Enterprise
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- New Enterprise is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Enterprise
- Salemville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Salemville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salemville
- Wolfsburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wolfsburg is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfsburg
- Blair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
- Blue Knob
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Blue Knob is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Knob
- Cotton Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Cotton Town is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Town
- Puzzletown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Puzzletown is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puzzletown
- Claysburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Brooks Mill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Brooks Mill is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks Mill
- Newry
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Duncansville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Roaring Spring
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Cross Keys
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cross Keys is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Keys
- Canan
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Canan is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canan
- Eldorado
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Eldorado is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldorado
- East Sharpsburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- East Sharpsburg is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sharpsburg
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
- Seven Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Champion
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
- Wehrum
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Wehrum is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wehrum
- Rexis
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Rexis is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rexis
- Armagh
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dilltown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Robinson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Robinson is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
- Claghorn ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Claghorn is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claghorn
- Heshbon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Heshbon is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heshbon
- Littletown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Littletown is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littletown
- Nolo
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Nolo is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nolo
- Suncliff
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Suncliff is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suncliff
- Josephine
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Josephine is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Josephine
- Palmertown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
- Tire Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Tire Hill is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tire Hill
- Paint
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Paint is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paint
- Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
- Windber
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Davidsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Benson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Benson is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 184 people
- Hollsopple
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Thomas Mill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Thomas Mill is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Mill
- Jerome
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Jerome is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerome
- Blough
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Blough is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blough
- Hooversville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Hooversville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooversville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 589 people
- Ogletown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ogletown is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogletown
- Forward
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Forward is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forward
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
- Robb
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Robb is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robb
- Seward
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- New Florence
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- West Fairfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- West Fairfield is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Fairfield
- Bolivar
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Oak Grove
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Oak Grove is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Laurel Mountain
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- 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
- Laughlintown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Ligonier
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Rector
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Burrell
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Burrell is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burrell
- Darlington
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Darlington is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darlington
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Oakland, see our County-by-County Page for Oakland.
Cemeteries Near Oakland ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oakland.
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 Oakland - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Oakland covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
- Oak Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Oak Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of Daisytown.
- The Oak Cemetery has also been known as:
- Cover Cemetery
- Singer Cemetery
- Singer Hill Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #45637 <2>
- St. Anthonys Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Forest Lawn Memorial Park
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Sandyvale Memorial Gardens
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandyvale Memorial Gardens
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Sandyvale Memorial Gardens is a large cemetery that is located in Johnstown.
- The Sandyvale Memorial Gardens has also been known as:
- Sandyvale Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1973537 <2>
- Berkley Hills Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Richland Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- St. Petka Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Grandview Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Weaver Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (199 more) ...
- Weaver Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Snavely Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Sacred Heart RC Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sacred Heart RC Cemetery
- The Sacred Heart RC Cemetery has also been known as:
- Sacred Heart Cemetery
- Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2411019 <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>
While we didn't find Oakland in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Oakland.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Oakland, with the one closest to Oakland listed first.
- Stonycreek
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Stonycreek is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonycreek
- Ferndale
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Geistown
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Geistown is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geistown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,242 people
- Conemaugh
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Conemaugh is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conemaugh
- Walsall
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Walsall is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walsall
- Johnstown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lilly
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lilly is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilly
- Population from the 2020 Census: 873 people
- Ingleside
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Ingleside is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingleside
- Scalp Level
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Scalp Level is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scalp Level
- Population from the 2020 Census: 691 people
- Elton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Mineral Point
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Mineral Point is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Point
- Davidsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Salix
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Salix is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salix
- South Fork
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cassandra
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cassandra is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassandra
- Population from the 2020 Census: 132 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Oakland. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oakland.
Newspapers Published in Oakland ...
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 52 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oakland.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oakland, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oakland.
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 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 Oakland:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Cambria County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bedford County
- Blair County
- Fayette County
- Indiana County
- Somerset County
- Westmoreland 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 Oakland, 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- Oakland) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |