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 Otto (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 Otto. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.
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 south 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.
Otto is located in Allegheny 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 Allegheny County: Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Washington & Westmoreland.
Below are the counties that are near Otto. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Otto:
- Allegheny County (The home county of Otto)
- The following are listed by their distance from Otto, with the one closest to Otto listed first.
- Port Vue
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Port Vue is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Vue
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,623 people
- Glassport
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- McKeesport
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Dravosburg
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Liberty
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Liberty is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,438 people
- Coal Valley
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Coal Valley is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Valley
- West Mifflin
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Mendelssohn
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Mendelssohn is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mendelssohn
- Duquesne
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Clairton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Boston
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jefferson Hills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- 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
- Armstrong County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otto, with the one closest to Otto listed first.
- Apollo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Edmon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Edmon is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmon
- Freeport
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Leechburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- North Apollo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Orchard Hills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Orchard Hills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
- Aladdin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Aladdin is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aladdin
- Spring Church
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- McVille
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- McVille is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McVille
- Neale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Neale is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neale
- Olivet
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Olivet is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
- Beaver County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otto, with the one closest to Otto listed first.
- Ambridge
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- South Heights
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- South Heights is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 437 people
- Gringo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Gringo is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gringo
- Crestmont Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Crestmont Village is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crestmont Village
- Economy
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Economy is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Economy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,022 people
- Aliquippa
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Baden
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- New Sheffield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- New Sheffield is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Sheffield
- Wallace City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Wallace City is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallace City
- Conway
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Knob
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Knob is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knob
- Freedom
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otto, with the one closest to Otto listed first.
- Valencia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Mars
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Seven Fields
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Seven Fields is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Fields
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,740 people
- Ekastown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Ekastown is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ekastown
- Glade Mills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Glade Mills is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade Mills
- Fox Run
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Fox Run is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Run
- Monroe
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Monroe is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
- Fernway
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Fernway is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernway
- Ogle
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ogle is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogle
- Callery
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Frazier Mill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Frazier Mill is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazier Mill
- Myoma
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Myoma is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myoma
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otto, with the one closest to Otto listed first.
- Belle Vernon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Lynnwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Lynnwood is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynnwood
- Arnold City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Arnold City is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold City
- Fairhope
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Fairhope is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhope
- Brownstown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Brownstown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownstown
- Fayette City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Fayette City is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 569 people
- Banning
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Banning is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banning
- Whitsett
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Whitsett is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitsett
- Kenneth
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Kenneth is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenneth
- Newell
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Newell is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 492 people
- Fuller
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Fuller is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Lynn
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Lynn is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otto, with the one closest to Otto listed first.
- Clarksville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Chartiers
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Chartiers is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chartiers
- Rices Landing
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Jefferson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Jefferson is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
- Stringtown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Stringtown is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Carmichaels
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Cumberland Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Cumberland Village is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
- Lippincott
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lippincott is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lippincott
- West Union
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- West Union is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Union
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otto, with the one closest to Otto listed first.
- White
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- White is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Bow
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Bow is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow
- Clarksburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otto, with the one closest to Otto listed first.
- Ellsworth
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ellsworth is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellsworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
- Gastonville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Gastonville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gastonville
- Finleyville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Black Diamond
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Black Diamond is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Diamond
- Monongahela
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- New Eagle
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Riverview
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Riverview is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
- Baidland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Baidland is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baidland
- Donora
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- McMurray
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Thompsonville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Thompsonville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompsonville
- North Charleroi
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- North Charleroi is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Charleroi
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,258 people
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Otto, with the one closest to Otto listed first.
- Trafford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Shaner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Shaner is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaner
- Larimer
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Larimer is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larimer
- Rillton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Blackburn ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Blackburn is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn
- Sutersville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Irwin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Irwin is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,716 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irwin <1>
- North Irwin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- North Irwin is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Irwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Shafton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Shafton is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shafton
- Webster
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Webster is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Herminie
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- West Newton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Otto, see our County-by-County Page for Otto.
Cemeteries Near Otto ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Otto.
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 Otto - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Otto covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Otto, with the one closest to Otto listed first.
- Richland Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Sacred Heart Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sacred Heart Cemetery
- The Sacred Heart Cemetery has also been known as:
- Sacred Heart Church Cemetery
- Calvary Slovak Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvary Slovak Cemetery
- The Calvary Slovak Cemetery has also been known as:
- Calvary Cemetery
- Holy Trinity Slovak Cemetery
- Port Vue Polish Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2329388 <2>
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Fairview Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- St. Clares Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Sacred Heart of Jesus Polish National Catholic Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- St. Mary Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- McKeesport & Versailles Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- St. Nicholas Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Holy Trinity Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (441 more) ...
- Beth Jacob Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- St. Agnes Catholic Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
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>
While we didn't find Otto in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Otto.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Otto, with the one closest to Otto listed first.
- Camden
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Camden is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden
- Coal Valley
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Coal Valley is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Valley
- Wilson
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Wilson is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
- McKeesport
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Dravosburg
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Mendelssohn
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Mendelssohn is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mendelssohn
- Belle Bridge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Belle Bridge is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Bridge
- New England
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- New England is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New England
- Boston
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Riverton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Riverton is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverton
- Duquesne
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Munhall
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Homestead
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Gill Hall
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Gill Hall is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gill Hall
- Cochrans Mill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cochrans Mill is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrans Mill
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Otto. See our List of 1890's Communities around Otto.
Newspapers Published in Otto ...
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 76 newspapers that have been published in the area around Otto.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Otto, there are papers which were published within 8 miles [12.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Otto.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Otto:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Allegheny County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Armstrong County
- Beaver County
- Butler County
- Fayette County
- Greene County
- Indiana County
- Washington County
- Westmoreland 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 Otto, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Otto) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |