RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> Commonwealth of Pennsylvania >> Washington County >> Ontario >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Ontario (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 Ontario. 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 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.

Ontario is located in Washington 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 Washington County: Allegheny, Beaver, Fayette, Greene, Westmoreland, Brooke (WV), Hancock (WV), Marshall (WV) & Ohio (WV).

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

  • Washington County     (The home county of Ontario)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ontario, with the one closest to Ontario listed first.
    • Scenery Hill
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Dunningsville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Dunningsville is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunningsville
    • Beallsville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Marianna
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Lone Pine
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Lone Pine is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Pine
    • Lover
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Lover is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lover
    • Eighty Four
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Centerville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Centerville is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,133 people
    • Deemston
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Deemston is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deemston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 696 people
    • Bissell
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Bissell is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bissell
    • Sudan
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Sudan is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sudan
    • Ten Mile
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Ten Mile is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ten Mile
  • Allegheny County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ontario, with the one closest to Ontario listed first.
    • Sunny Side
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Sunny Side is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Side
    • Library
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Cochrans Mill
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Cochrans Mill is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrans Mill
    • Bethel Park
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Elizabeth
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jefferson Hills
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jefferson Hills is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,136 people
      • Jefferson Hills has also been known as:
      • Jefferson
    • West Elizabeth
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Brightwood
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Brightwood is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brightwood
    • Pleasant Hills
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Upper Saint Clair
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Clairton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Mendelssohn
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Mendelssohn is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mendelssohn
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ontario, with the one closest to Ontario listed first.
    • La Belle
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • La Belle is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Belle
    • Newell
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Newell is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 492 people
    • East Millsboro
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • East Millsboro is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Millsboro
    • Luzerne
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Luzerne is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luzerne
    • Alicia
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Alicia is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alicia
    • Belle Vernon
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Chamouni
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Chamouni is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamouni
    • Brownsville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hiller
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Brownstown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Brownstown is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownstown
    • Fairhope
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Fairhope is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhope
    • Arensburg
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Arensburg is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arensburg
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ontario, with the one closest to Ontario listed first.
    • Chartiers
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Chartiers is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartiers
    • Clarksville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Jefferson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Jefferson is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
    • Lippincott
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Lippincott is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lippincott
    • Rices Landing
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • West Union
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • West Union is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Union
    • Swarts
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Swarts is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swarts
    • Carmichaels
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Cumberland Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Cumberland Village is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
    • Fairdale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Fairdale is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
    • Khedive
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Khedive is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Khedive
    • Morrisville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Morrisville is located in Greene County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisville
  • Westmoreland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ontario, with the one closest to Ontario listed first.
    • Gibsonton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Gibsonton is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonton
    • Monessen
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • North Belle Vernon
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • 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
    • Webster
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Webster is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
    • Smithton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Sutersville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • West Newton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Blackburn ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Blackburn is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn
    • Shaner
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Shaner is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaner
    • Wyano
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Wyano is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyano
    • Herminie
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Rillton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Brooke County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ontario, with the one closest to Ontario listed first.
    • Bethany
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Hooverson Heights
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Hooverson Heights is located in Brooke County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooverson Heights
    • Shank Town
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Shank Town is located in Brooke County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shank Town
    • Dutch Town
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Dutch Town is located in Brooke County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutch Town
    • Wellsburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Marshall County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ontario, with the one closest to Ontario listed first.
    • Dallas
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Dallas is located in Marshall County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
    • Calis
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Calis is located in Marshall County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calis
    • Rocklick
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Rocklick is located in Marshall County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocklick
  • Monongalia County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ontario, with the one closest to Ontario listed first.
    • Blacksville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Blacksville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blacksville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
    • Bowlby
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Bowlby is located in Monongalia County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowlby
    • Maidsville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Maidsville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maidsville
    • Baker Ridge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Baker Ridge is located in Monongalia County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker Ridge
    • Cassville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Cassville is located in Monongalia County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassville
    • Osage
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Osage is located in Monongalia County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osage
    • Wana
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Ohio County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ontario, with the one closest to Ontario listed first.
    • Potomac
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Potomac is located in Ohio County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potomac
    • Point Mills
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Point Mills is located in Ohio County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Mills
    • Valley Grove
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • West Liberty
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Clinton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Clinton is located in Ohio County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
    • Triadelphia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Ontario ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ontario.

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

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

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

  • Scenery Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scenery Hill Cemetery
    • The Scenery Hill Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Mt. Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
    • Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1962382 <2>
  • Pigeon Creek Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Letherman Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Letherman Cemetery
    • The Letherman Cemetery has also been known as:
    • South Pigeon Creek Dunkard Cemetery
  • Beallsville Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Clements Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • St. Lukes Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Highland Brethren Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • United Presbyterian Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Franklin Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Nicholas Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Horn Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horn Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Horn Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<3> to the south of Marianna.
    • The Horn Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Horn Burial Ground
    • Horns Lutheran Cemetery
    • Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #45150 <2>
  • Continue List   (498 more) ...

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.<4>

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

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

  • Scenery Hill
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Odell
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Odell is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odell
  • Vanceville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Vanceville is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanceville
  • Glyde
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Glyde is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glyde
  • Lone Pine
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Lone Pine is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Pine
  • Bakers
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Bakers is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakers
  • Beallsville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Kammerer
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Kammerer is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kammerer
  • Dunningsville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Dunningsville is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunningsville
  • South Strabane
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • South Strabane is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Strabane
  • Bissell
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Bissell is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bissell
  • Deemston
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Deemston is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deemston
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 696 people
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Wylandville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Wylandville is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wylandville
    • Lover
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Lover is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lover
    • Eighty Four
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Ontario ...

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 46 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ontario.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ontario, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ontario.

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 Ontario:

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>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 from Point A (ie- Ontario) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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 Ontario, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.