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 Ostend (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 Ostend. 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.
Ostend is located in Clearfield 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 Clearfield County: Cameron, Centre, Clinton, Elk, Indiana & Jefferson.
Below are the counties that are near Ostend. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ostend:
- Clearfield County (The home county of Ostend)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ostend, with the one closest to Ostend listed first.
- Mahaffey
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Bower
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Bower is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bower
- Newburg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Newburg is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
- New Washington
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- New Washington is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Washington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
- Cherry Corner
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Cherry Corner is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Corner
- Curry Run
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Curry Run is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curry Run
- Thompsontown
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Thompsontown is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompsontown
- Burnside
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Burnside is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnside
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Mayes
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mayes is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayes
- Gazzam
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Gazzam is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gazzam
- Grampian
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Lumber City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Lumber City is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumber City
- Estimated population in 2015: 75 people
- Armstrong County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ostend, with the one closest to Ostend listed first.
- Barnards
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Barnards is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnards
- Dayton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- McWilliams
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- McWilliams is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McWilliams
- Atwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Atwood is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 100 people
- Bryan
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Bryan is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan
- Eddyville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Eddyville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eddyville
- Blair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ostend, with the one closest to Ostend listed first.
- Highland Fling
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Highland Fling is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Fling
- Bellwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Tipton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Grazierville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Grazierville is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grazierville
- Tyrone
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Altoona
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Tyrone Forge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Tyrone Forge is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone Forge
- Cambria County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ostend, with the one closest to Ostend listed first.
- Garmantown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Garmantown is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garmantown
- Barnesboro
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Barnesboro is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnesboro
- Hastings
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Thomas Mills
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Thomas Mills is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Mills
- West Branch
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- West Branch is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Branch
- Flinton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Northern Cambria
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Northern Cambria is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northern Cambria
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,456 people
- Spangler
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Spangler is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spangler
- Patton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Saint Benedict
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Saint Benedict is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Benedict
- Fallentimber
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Carrolltown
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Centre County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ostend, with the one closest to Ostend listed first.
- New Town
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- New Town is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Sandy Ridge
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Sandy Ridge is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Ridge
- South Philipsburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- South Philipsburg is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Philipsburg
- Glass City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Glass City is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glass City
- North Philipsburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- North Philipsburg is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Philipsburg
- Philipsburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Casanova
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Casanova is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casanova
- Elk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ostend, with the one closest to Ostend listed first.
- Brockport
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Scattertown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Scattertown is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scattertown
- Shawmut
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Shawmut is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawmut
- Challenge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Challenge is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Challenge
- Horton City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Horton City is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton City
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ostend, with the one closest to Ostend listed first.
- Urey
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Urey is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urey
- Glen Campbell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hooverhurst
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hooverhurst is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooverhurst
- Johnsonburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Johnsonburg is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsonburg
- Hillsdale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hillsdale is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Rossiter
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Cherry Tree
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Cherry Tree is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Tree
- Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
- Uniontown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Uniontown is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
- Purchase Line
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Purchase Line is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purchase Line
- Rochester Mills
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Rochester Mills is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester Mills
- Savan
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Savan is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savan
- Commodore
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ostend, with the one closest to Ostend listed first.
- Winslow
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Winslow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winslow
- Albion
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Albion is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Sykesville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Punxsutawney
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Wishaw
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Wishaw is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wishaw
- Panic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Panic is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panic
- Prescottville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Prescottville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescottville
- Reynoldsville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Valier
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Valier is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valier
- Pancoast
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Pancoast is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pancoast
- Oliveburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Oliveburg is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oliveburg
- Falls Creek
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Lawrence County
- Big Run
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Big Run is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Run
- Population from the 2020 Census: 594 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ostend, see our County-by-County Page for Ostend.
Cemeteries Near Ostend ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ostend.
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 Ostend - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ostend covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ostend, with the one closest to Ostend listed first.
- Mahaffey Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- LaJose Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Sunderland Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Cross Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Dunkard Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Urey Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Bennett Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Zion Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Watts Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rock Springs Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- St. Michaels Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Friends Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (205 more) ...
- St. Bonaventure Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Williams Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Ferguson Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
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 Ostend had a population of 117 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ostend, with the one closest to Ostend listed first.
- Mahaffey
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Newburg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Newburg is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
- Bower
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Bower is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bower
- McGees Mills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- McGees Mills is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGees Mills
- New Washington
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- New Washington is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Washington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
- Bells Landing
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bells Landing is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bells Landing
- Curry Run
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Curry Run is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curry Run
- Sidney
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Sidney is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidney
- Urey
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Urey is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urey
- Burnside
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Burnside is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnside
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Five Points
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Five Points is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
- Marron
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Marron is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marron
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Glen Campbell
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Patchinville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Patchinville is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patchinville
- Mayes
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mayes is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayes
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ostend. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ostend.
Newspapers Published in Ostend ...
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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ostend.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ostend, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ostend.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Ostend:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Clearfield County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Armstrong County
- Blair County
- Cambria County
- Centre County
- Elk County
- Indiana County
- Jefferson County
- Lawrence County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Pennsylvania
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com. |
| <3> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Ostend, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Ostend) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |