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 Old Side (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 Old Side. 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.
Old Side is located in Centre 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 Centre County: Blair, Cambria, Clearfield, Clinton, Huntingdon, Mifflin & Union.
Below are the counties that are near Old Side. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Old Side:
- Centre County (The home county of Old Side)
- The following are listed by their distance from Old Side, with the one closest to Old Side listed first.
- Poorman Side
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poorman Side
- Poorman Side is located in Centre County
- Clarence
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarence have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarence
- Clarence is located in Centre County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clarence <2>
- Pancake
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pancake. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pancake
- Pancake is located in Centre County
- Snow Shoe
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Snow Shoe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Shoe
- Snow Shoe is located in Centre County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 758 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Snow Shoe <2>
- Moshannon
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshannon
- Moshannon is located in Centre County
- Pine Glen
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Glen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Glen
- Pine Glen is located in Centre County
- Central City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Central City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central City
- Central City is located in Centre County
- Wingate
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wingate. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wingate
- Wingate is located in Centre County
- Unionville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Milesburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Monument
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monument have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monument
- Monument is located in Centre County
- Curtin
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Curtin. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtin
- Curtin is located in Centre County
- Cameron County
- The following are listed by their distance from Old Side, with the one closest to Old Side listed first.
- Wyside
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wyside. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyside
- Wyside is located in Cameron County
- Driftwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Huntley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntley
- Huntley is located in Cameron County
- Cameron
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
- Cameron is located in Cameron County
- Clearfield County
- The following are listed by their distance from Old Side, with the one closest to Old Side listed first.
- Pottersdale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottersdale
- Pottersdale is located in Clearfield County
- Kylertown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Morrisdale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Shiloh
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Shiloh. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Shiloh is located in Clearfield County
- Chester Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chester Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester Hill
- Chester Hill is located in Clearfield County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 820 people
- West Decatur
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Decatur
- West Decatur is located in Clearfield County
- West Decatur has also been known as:
- Blue Ball
- Decatur
- Wallaceton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallaceton
- Wallaceton is located in Clearfield County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
- Woodland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Woodland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
- Woodland is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodland <2>
- Osceola Mills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Osceola Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola Mills
- Osceola Mills is located in Clearfield County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,058 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Osceola Mills <2>
- Barrett
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Barrett. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrett
- Barrett is located in Clearfield County
- Ashland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Ashland is located in Clearfield County
- Mount Joy
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mount Joy. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Joy
- Mount Joy is located in Clearfield County
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Old Side, with the one closest to Old Side listed first.
- Keating
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Keating. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keating
- Keating is located in Clinton County
- Cooks Run
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cooks Run. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Run
- Cooks Run is located in Clinton County
- Bitumen
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bitumen
- Bitumen is located in Clinton County
- Westport
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Abdera
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abdera
- Abdera is located in Clinton County
- Beech Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beech Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Creek
- Beech Creek is located in Clinton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 685 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Beech Creek <2>
- Renovo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- South Renovo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Renovo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Renovo
- South Renovo is located in Clinton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 422 people
- Lamar
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Farwell
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farwell
- Farwell is located in Clinton County
- Farrandsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Farrandsville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrandsville
- Farrandsville is located in Clinton County
- Mill Hall
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mill Hall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Hall
- Mill Hall is located in Clinton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,586 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mill Hall <2>
- Elk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Old Side, with the one closest to Old Side listed first.
- Dents Run
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dents Run. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dents Run
- Dents Run is located in Elk County
- Grant
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Grant. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant
- Grant is located in Elk County
- Benezette
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Huntingdon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Old Side, with the one closest to Old Side listed first.
- Dungarvin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dungarvin
- Dungarvin is located in Huntingdon County
- Pennington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pennington. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
- Pennington is located in Huntingdon County
- Seven Stars
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seven Stars have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
- Seven Stars is located in Huntingdon County
- Ennisville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ennisville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ennisville
- Ennisville is located in Huntingdon County
- Huntingdon Furnace
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Huntingdon Furnace. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntingdon Furnace
- Huntingdon Furnace is located in Huntingdon County
- Neffs Mills
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Neffs Mills. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neffs Mills
- Neffs Mills is located in Huntingdon County
- Mifflin County
- Milroy
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milroy have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milroy
- Milroy is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milroy <2>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Old Side, see our County-by-County Page for Old Side.
Cemeteries Near Old Side ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Old Side.
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 Old Side covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Old Side, with the one closest to Old Side listed first.
- St. Michaels Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Michaels Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Michaels Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- St. Marys Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Askey Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- St. Severin Old Log Church Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- St. Severins Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Severins Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Severins Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Ganoe Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ganoe Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ganoe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Trcziyulny Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Trcziyulny Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Trcziyulny Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Oak Ridge Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Ridge Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Lucas Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Keewaydin Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Kylertown Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kylertown Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kylertown Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Nelson Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nelson Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nelson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Continue List (129 more) ...
- Immanuel Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Immanuel Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Immanuel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Henderson Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Henderson Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Henderson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Campbell Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Campbell Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Campbell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
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 Old Side in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Old Side.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Old Side, with the one closest to Old Side listed first.
- Clarence
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarence have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarence
- Clarence is located in Centre County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clarence <2>
- Fountain
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fountain have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain
- Fountain is located in Centre County
- Snow Shoe
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Snow Shoe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Shoe
- Snow Shoe is located in Centre County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 758 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Snow Shoe <2>
- Butts
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Butts have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butts
- Butts is located in Centre County
- Moshannon
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshannon
- Moshannon is located in Centre County
- Gillintown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gillintown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillintown
- Gillintown is located in Centre County
- Rhoads
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rhoads have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhoads
- Rhoads is located in Centre County
- Pine Glen
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Glen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Glen
- Pine Glen is located in Centre County
- Gum Stump
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gum Stump have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Stump
- Gum Stump is located in Centre County
- Peale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peale
- Peale is located in Clearfield County
- Belford
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belford
- Belford is located in Clearfield County
- Pottersdale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottersdale
- Pottersdale is located in Clearfield County
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Karthaus
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Karthaus have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Karthaus
- Karthaus is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Karthaus <2>
- Wingate
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wingate. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wingate
- Wingate is located in Centre County
- Unionville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Old Side. See our List of 1890's Communities around Old Side.
Newspapers Published in Old Side ...
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 58 newspapers that have been published in the area around Old Side.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Old Side, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Old Side.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.
To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Old Side:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Centre County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cameron County
- Clearfield County
- Clinton County
- Elk County
- Huntingdon County
- Mifflin County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Pennsylvania
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Old Side. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/
Footnotes ...
<1> | 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. |
<2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
<3> | 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. |
<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 Old Side, 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- Old Side) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Old Side. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.0614, Longitude: -77.9406 In this case, the coordinates for Old Side have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |