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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 Orchard Beach (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 Orchard Beach. 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.

Name Variations for Orchard Beach ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Orchard Beach: Orchard Bch.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 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.

Orchard Beach is located in Erie 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 Erie County: Chautauqua (NY), Ashtabula (OH), Crawford (OH) & Warren (OH).

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

  • Erie County     (The home county of Orchard Beach)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Beach, with the one closest to Orchard Beach listed first.
    • Freeport
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport
      • Freeport is located in Erie County
    • North East
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North East have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North East
      • North East is located in Erie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,013 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for North East <2>
    • Hornby
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hornby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornby
      • Hornby is located in Erie County
    • Lawrence Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lawrence Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence Park
      • Lawrence Park is located in Erie County
    • Wesleyville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wesleyville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesleyville
      • Wesleyville is located in Erie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,093 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wesleyville <2>
    • Phillipsville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillipsville
      • Phillipsville is located in Erie County
    • Erie
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
      • Erie is located in Erie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 95,077 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Erie <2>
    • Wattsburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wattsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsburg
      • Wattsburg is located in Erie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 381 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wattsburg <2>
    • Kearsarge
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kearsarge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kearsarge
      • Kearsarge is located in Erie County
    • Lakewood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood
      • Lakewood is located in Erie County
    • Beaver Dam
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Dam
      • Beaver Dam is located in Erie County
    • Waterford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
  • Crawford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Beach, with the one closest to Orchard Beach listed first.
    • Canadohta Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Canadohta Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canadohta Lake
      • Canadohta Lake is located in Crawford County
    • Spartansburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spartansburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spartansburg
      • Spartansburg is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 283 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spartansburg <2>
    • Lincolnville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lincolnville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincolnville
      • Lincolnville is located in Crawford County
  • Warren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Beach, with the one closest to Orchard Beach listed first.
    • Bear Lake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Columbus
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Colza
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colza have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colza
      • Colza is located in Warren County
    • Sugar Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sugar Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
      • Sugar Grove is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 569 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sugar Grove <2>
    • West Spring Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Spring Creek
      • West Spring Creek is located in Warren County
  • Chautauqua County (NY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Beach, with the one closest to Orchard Beach listed first.
    • Ripley
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Forsyth
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forsyth
      • Forsyth is located in Chautauqua County (NY)
    • Findley Lake
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • French Creek
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Creek
      • French Creek is located in Chautauqua County (NY)
    • Sherman
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherman
      • Sherman is located in Chautauqua County (NY)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sherman <2>
    • Slab City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Slab City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slab City
      • Slab City is located in Chautauqua County (NY)
    • Westfield
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield
      • Westfield is located in Chautauqua County (NY)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,962 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Westfield <2>
    • Mayville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mayville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayville
      • Mayville is located in Chautauqua County (NY)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,565 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mayville <2>
    • Stebbins Corners
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stebbins Corners
      • Stebbins Corners is located in Chautauqua County (NY)
    • Bournes Beach
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bournes Beach
      • Bournes Beach is located in Chautauqua County (NY)
    • Hartfield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartfield
      • Hartfield is located in Chautauqua County (NY)
    • Stedman
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stedman
      • Stedman is located in Chautauqua County (NY)

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

Newspapers Published in Orchard Beach ...

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 42 newspapers that have been published in the area around Orchard Beach.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Orchard Beach, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Orchard Beach.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Orchard Beach:

Cemeteries Near Orchard Beach ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Orchard Beach.

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 Orchard Beach covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Hill Cemetery
  • Phillips Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Phillips Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Phillips Cemetery
  • Northville Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Northville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Northville Cemetery
  • St. Gregory Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Gregory Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Gregory Cemetery
  • South Ripley Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the South Ripley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the South Ripley Cemetery
  • Quincy Rural Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Quincy Rural Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Quincy Rural Cemetery
  • Greenfield Baptist Church Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • East Ripley Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the East Ripley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East Ripley Cemetery
  • Findley Lake Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Findley Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Findley Lake Cemetery
  • Eaoaun Bohoslov Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Jacob Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jacob Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jacob Cemetery
  • Mina Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mina Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mina Cemetery
  • Continue List   (111 more) ...
    • West Mina Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Mina Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Mina Cemetery
    • Porter Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Porter Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Porter Cemetery
    • Wintergreen Gorge Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wintergreen Gorge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wintergreen Gorge Cemetery

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 Orchard Beach in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Orchard Beach.

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

  • North East
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North East have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North East
    • North East is located in Erie County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,013 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for North East <2>
  • State Line
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for State Line have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line
    • State Line is located in Chautauqua County (NY)
  • Moorheadville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moorheadville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moorheadville
    • Moorheadville is located in Erie County
  • Moorhead
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moorhead have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moorhead
    • Moorhead is located in Erie County
  • South Ripley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Ripley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Ripley
    • South Ripley is located in Chautauqua County (NY)
  • Ripley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Hornby
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hornby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornby
    • Hornby is located in Erie County
  • Findley Lake
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Lombard
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lombard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lombard
    • Lombard is located in Chautauqua County (NY)
  • Mina
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mina have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mina
    • Mina is located in Chautauqua County (NY)
  • Wesleyville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wesleyville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesleyville
    • Wesleyville is located in Erie County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,093 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wesleyville <2>
  • Belle Valley
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belle Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Valley
    • Belle Valley is located in Erie County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • French Creek
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Creek
      • French Creek is located in Chautauqua County (NY)
    • Sherman
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherman
      • Sherman is located in Chautauqua County (NY)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sherman <2>
    • Summerdale
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summerdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerdale
      • Summerdale is located in Chautauqua County (NY)

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Orchard Beach. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Erie County: www.eriecountygov.org/

The official website for State 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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Orchard Beach) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Orchard Beach. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.2414, Longitude: -79.8287       In this case, the coordinates for Orchard Beach have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Orchard Beach, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024