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 Palo Alto (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 Palo Alto. 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 doctors and hospitals 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.
Palo Alto is located in Bedford 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 Bedford County: Allegany (MD), Blair, Cambria, Fulton, Huntingdon & Somerset.
Below are the counties that are near Palo Alto. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Palo Alto:
- Bedford County (The home county of Palo Alto)
- The following are listed by their distance from Palo Alto, with the one closest to Palo Alto listed first.
- Stringtown
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Stringtown is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
- Cooks Mills
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Cooks Mills is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Mills
- Hyndman
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Beans Cove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Beans Cove is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Cove
- Rainsburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Rainsburg is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainsburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
- Kegg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Kegg is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kegg
- Manns Choice
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Charlesville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Charlesville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlesville
- Schellsburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Purcell
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Purcell is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purcell
- Bedford
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ott Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ott Town is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ott Town
- Cliffs ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cliffs is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffs
- Fulton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Palo Alto, with the one closest to Palo Alto listed first.
- Emmaville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Emmaville is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmaville
- Dott
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Dott is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dott
- Warfordsburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Crystal Spring
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Crystal Spring is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Spring
- Somerset County
- The following are listed by their distance from Palo Alto, with the one closest to Palo Alto listed first.
- Fairhope
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Wellersburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Wellersburg is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellersburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
- Johnsburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Callimont
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Callimont is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Callimont
- Population from the 2020 Census: 38 people
- Wittenberg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Wittenberg is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittenberg
- Hays Mill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Hays Mill is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hays Mill
- Glade City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Glade City is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade City
- Berlin
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- New Baltimore
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- New Baltimore is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Baltimore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 167 people
- Downey
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Downey is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downey
- Pine Hill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Hill is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Hill
- Meyersdale
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- West Meyersdale
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- West Meyersdale is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Meyersdale
- Allegany County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Palo Alto, with the one closest to Palo Alto listed first.
- Ellerslie
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ellerslie is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellerslie
- Mount Savage Junction
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Mount Savage Junction is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Savage Junction
- Corriganville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Corriganville is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corriganville
- Barrelville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Barrelville is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrelville
- Cumberland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Shanty Town ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Shanty Town is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanty Town
- La Vale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Savage
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Flintstone
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Rush
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Rush is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rush
- Zihlman
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Zihlman is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zihlman
- Cedar Cliff
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Cedar Cliff is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Cliff
- Clarysville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Clarysville is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarysville
- Garrett County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Palo Alto, with the one closest to Palo Alto listed first.
- Avilton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Avilton is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avilton
- Grantsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Bloomington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bloomington is located in Garrett County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
- Bittinger
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Washington County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Palo Alto, with the one closest to Palo Alto listed first.
- Pearre
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Pearre is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearre
- Hancock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Hampshire County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Palo Alto, with the one closest to Palo Alto listed first.
- Donaldson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Donaldson is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
- Okonoko
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Okonoko is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okonoko
- Springfield
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Points
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Points is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Points
- Ritters
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Ritters is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritters
- Higginsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Higginsville is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Higginsville
- Three Churches
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Three Churches is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Churches
- Wapocomo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Wapocomo is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wapocomo
- Vance
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Vance is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
- Romney
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Romney is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romney
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,680 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Romney <1>
- Slanesville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Slanesville is located in Hampshire County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slanesville
- Mineral County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Palo Alto, with the one closest to Palo Alto listed first.
- Ridgeley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Carpendale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Carpendale is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpendale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 900 people
- Wiley Ford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Short Gap
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Short Gap is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Gap
- Fort Ashby
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Keyser
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Piedmont
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Headsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Headsville is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Headsville
- Windom ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Windom is located in Mineral County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
- Burlington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- New Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Morgan County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Palo Alto, with the one closest to Palo Alto listed first.
- Doe Gully
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Doe Gully is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doe Gully
- Hansrote
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hansrote is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hansrote
- Orleans Cross Roads
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Orleans Cross Roads is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans Cross Roads
- Magnolia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Magnolia is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Paw Paw
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Woodmont
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Woodmont is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodmont
- Bath
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Bath is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
- Population from the 2020 Census: 587 people
- Berkeley Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Berryville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Berryville is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryville
- Hancock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Hancock is located in Morgan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancock
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Palo Alto, see our County-by-County Page for Palo Alto.
Cemeteries Near Palo Alto ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Palo Alto.
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 Palo Alto - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Palo Alto covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Palo Alto, with the one closest to Palo Alto listed first.
- Porter Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Zion Park Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Union Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Growden Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Restlawn Memorial Gardens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hillcrest Memorial Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rocky Gap Veterans Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Old Coney Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- St.s Peter & Paul Catholic Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St.s Peter & Paul Catholic Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St.s Peter & Paul Catholic Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Cumberland (MD).
- The St.s Peter & Paul Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
- St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #81612 <3>
- Rose Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- St. Patricks Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Continue List (191 more) ...
- Fellowship & Union Cemeteries
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Fairview Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Oakdale Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
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 Palo Alto in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Palo Alto.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Palo Alto, with the one closest to Palo Alto listed first.
- Cooks Mills
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Cooks Mills is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Mills
- State Line
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- State Line is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line
- Ellerslie
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ellerslie is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellerslie
- Hoblitzell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Hoblitzell is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoblitzell
- Williams
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Williams is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams
- Hazen
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hazen is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazen
- Wellersburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Wellersburg is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellersburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
- Corriganville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Corriganville is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corriganville
- Kreigbaum
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Kreigbaum is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kreigbaum
- Mount Savage Junction
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Mount Savage Junction is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Savage Junction
- Fairhope
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Hyndman
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Foley
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Foley is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foley
- Barrelville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Barrelville is located in Allegany County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrelville
- Glencoe
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Glencoe is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glencoe
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Palo Alto. See our List of 1890's Communities around Palo Alto.
Newspapers Published in Palo Alto ...
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 35 newspapers that have been published in the area around Palo Alto.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Palo Alto, 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 Palo Alto.
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 helpful 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 Palo Alto:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Bedford County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Fulton County
- Somerset County
- Allegany County
- Garrett County
- Washington County
- Hampshire County
- Mineral County
- Morgan 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 Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) has created and maintains a database of historic properties that is called MIHP (for the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties). More information about the MHT and MIHP can be found on their website: mht.maryland.gov. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Palo Alto) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Palo Alto, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |