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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 Oberlin (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 Oberlin. 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 and hospitals 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.

Oberlin is located in Dauphin 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 Dauphin County: Cumberland, Lancaster, Lebanon, Northumberland, Perry, Schuylkill & York.

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

  • Dauphin County     (The home county of Oberlin)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oberlin, with the one closest to Oberlin listed first.
    • Lawnton
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Lawnton is located in Dauphin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawnton
    • Paxtang
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Paxtang is located in Dauphin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxtang
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,546 people
    • Steelton
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Highspire
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Progress
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Progress is located in Dauphin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Progress
    • Rutherford
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Rutherford is located in Dauphin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutherford
    • Edgemont
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Penbrook
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Penbrook is located in Dauphin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penbrook
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,976 people
    • Clifton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Clifton is located in Dauphin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
    • Bloomburg Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Bloomburg Village is located in Dauphin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomburg Village
    • Colonial Park
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Colonial Park is located in Dauphin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Park
    • Harrisburg
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Adams County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oberlin, with the one closest to Oberlin listed first.
    • Latimore
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Latimore is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latimore
    • Lake Meade
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Lake Meade is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Meade
    • East Berlin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • York Springs
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Gargol
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Gargol is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gargol
    • Hampton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Hampton is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton
    • Idaville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Idaville is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idaville
    • Abbottstown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Gardners
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Heidlersburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Heidlersburg is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heidlersburg
    • Newchester
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Newchester is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newchester
    • Aspers
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Aspers is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aspers
      • Aspers has also been known as:
      • Bendersville Station
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Aspers <1>
  • Allegheny County
    • Bloomfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Bloomfield is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,255 people
  • Berks County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oberlin, with the one closest to Oberlin listed first.
    • Meckville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Meckville is located in Berks County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meckville
    • Mount Aetna
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Cumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oberlin, with the one closest to Oberlin listed first.
    • New Cumberland
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Lemoyne
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Lower Allen
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Lower Allen is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Allen
    • West Fairview
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • West Fairview is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Fairview
    • Camp Hill
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Wormleysburg
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Enola
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Lisburn
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Lisburn is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisburn
    • Shiremanstown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Shiremanstown is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiremanstown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,641 people
    • Westwood Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Westwood Village is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood Village
    • Sporting Hill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Sporting Hill is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sporting Hill
    • Allenview
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Allenview is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allenview
  • Juniata County
    • Seven Stars
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Seven Stars is located in Juniata County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
  • Lancaster County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oberlin, with the one closest to Oberlin listed first.
    • Falmouth
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Falmouth is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falmouth
    • Aberdeen
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Aberdeen is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aberdeen
    • Elizabethtown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Billmeyer ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Billmeyer is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billmeyer
    • Milton Grove
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Milton Grove is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton Grove
    • Rheems
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Rheems is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rheems
    • Maytown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Mastersonville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Mastersonville is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mastersonville
    • Florin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Florin is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florin
    • Marietta
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Mount Joy
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Elstonville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Elstonville is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elstonville
  • Lebanon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oberlin, with the one closest to Oberlin listed first.
    • Campbelltown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Palmyra
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Lawn
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Syner
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Syner is located in Lebanon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Syner
    • Annville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Colebrook
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Colebrook is located in Lebanon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colebrook
    • Fontana
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Fontana is located in Lebanon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontana
    • Mount Gretna
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Timber Hills
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Timber Hills is located in Lebanon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Hills
    • Mount Gretna Heights
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Mount Gretna Heights is located in Lebanon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gretna Heights
    • Fort Indiantown Gap
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Fort Indiantown Gap is located in Lebanon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Indiantown Gap
    • Cleona
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Northumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oberlin, with the one closest to Oberlin listed first.
    • Malta
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Malta is located in Northumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malta
    • Mandata
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Mandata is located in Northumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandata
  • Perry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oberlin, with the one closest to Oberlin listed first.
    • Marysville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Perdix
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Perdix is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perdix
    • Cove
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Cove is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove
    • Duncannon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • New Buffalo
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • New Buffalo is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Buffalo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
    • Rose Glen
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Rose Glen is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Glen
    • Mecks Corner
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Mecks Corner is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mecks Corner
    • Bailey
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Bailey is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey
    • Falling Spring
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Falling Spring is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falling Spring
    • Blain
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Newport
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Liverpool
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
  • Schuylkill County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oberlin, with the one closest to Oberlin listed first.
    • Suedberg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Suedberg is located in Schuylkill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suedberg
    • Orwin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Orwin is located in Schuylkill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orwin
    • Tower City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Irving
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Irving is located in Schuylkill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
    • Klingerstown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Beuchler
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Beuchler is located in Schuylkill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beuchler
    • Marstown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Marstown is located in Schuylkill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marstown
  • Snyder County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oberlin, with the one closest to Oberlin listed first.
    • McKees Half Falls
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • McKees Half Falls is located in Snyder County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKees Half Falls
    • Hoffer
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Hoffer is located in Snyder County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoffer
  • York County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oberlin, with the one closest to Oberlin listed first.
    • Marsh Run
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Marsh Run is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsh Run
    • New Market
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • New Market is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Market
    • Redland Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Redland Village is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redland Village
    • Valley Green
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Valley Green is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Green
    • Rudytown ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Rudytown is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rudytown
    • Nauvoo
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Nauvoo is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nauvoo
    • Lewisberry
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Quaker Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Quaker Village is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker Village
    • Goldsboro
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Goldsboro is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldsboro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 938 people
    • Andersontown
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Andersontown is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andersontown
    • Erney
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Erney is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erney
    • Siddonsburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Siddonsburg is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siddonsburg

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

Cemeteries Near Oberlin ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oberlin.

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

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

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

  • Midland Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Beth El Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Paxtang Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Dauphin County Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Baldwin Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • William Howard Day Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for William Howard Day Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the William Howard Day Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Harrisburg.
    • The William Howard Day Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Day Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #44666 <2>
  • Mt. Olivet Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Olivet Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Mt. Olivet Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Harrisburg.
    • The Mt. Olivet Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Mt. Olive Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1921632 <2>
  • Woodlawn Memorial Gardens
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Prospect Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Shoops Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (241 more) ...
    • East Harrisburg Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Mt. Moriah Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Harrisburg Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)

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 in 1895, Oberlin had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Steelton
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Paxtang
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Paxtang is located in Dauphin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxtang
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,546 people
  • Marsh Run
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Marsh Run is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsh Run
  • Highspire
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Progress
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Progress is located in Dauphin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Progress
  • Rutherford
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Rutherford is located in Dauphin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutherford
  • Penbrook
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Penbrook is located in Dauphin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penbrook
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,976 people
  • New Cumberland
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Eberlys Mill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Eberlys Mill is located in Cumberland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eberlys Mill
  • Clifton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Clifton is located in Dauphin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
  • Harrisburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Yocumtown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Yocumtown is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yocumtown
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Middletown
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hummelstown
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • West Fairview
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • West Fairview is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Fairview

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

Newspapers Published in Oberlin ...

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 191 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oberlin.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oberlin, there are papers which were published within 7 miles [11.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oberlin.

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 Oberlin:

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