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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 Penn Hall (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 Penn Hall. 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 Penn Hall ...

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.

Another variation: Pennhall.

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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.

Penn Hall is located in Centre 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 Centre County: Blair, Cambria, Clearfield, Clinton, Huntingdon, Mifflin & Union.

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

  • Centre County     (The home county of Penn Hall)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Penn Hall, with the one closest to Penn Hall listed first.
    • Spring Mills
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Mills
      • Spring Mills is located in Centre County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spring Mills <2>
    • Zerby
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Zerby. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zerby
      • Zerby is located in Centre County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Zerby
      • From Penn Hall to Zerby
    • Madisonburg
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Madisonburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madisonburg
      • Madisonburg is located in Centre County
    • Millheim
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millheim have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millheim
      • Millheim is located in Centre County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 876 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Millheim <2>
    • Coburn
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Centre Hill
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Potters Mills
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Ingleby
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Aaronsburg
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aaronsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aaronsburg
      • Aaronsburg is located in Centre County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Aaronsburg <2>
    • Centre Hall
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Zion
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Fruittown
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Clinton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Penn Hall, with the one closest to Penn Hall listed first.
    • Lamar
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Abdera
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Tylersville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Greenburr
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Cedar Springs
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Salona
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Rote
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rote. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rote
      • Rote is located in Clinton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rote
      • From Penn Hall to Rote
    • Mill Hall
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mill Hall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Hall
      • Mill Hall is located in Clinton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,586 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mill Hall <2>
    • Loganton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loganton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loganton
      • Loganton is located in Clinton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 475 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Loganton <2>
    • Beech Creek
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beech Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Creek
      • Beech Creek is located in Clinton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 685 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Beech Creek <2>
    • Castanea
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Flemington
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flemington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flemington
      • Flemington is located in Clinton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,312 people
  • Huntingdon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Penn Hall, with the one closest to Penn Hall listed first.
    • Ennisville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ennisville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ennisville
      • Ennisville is located in Huntingdon County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ennisville
      • From Penn Hall to Ennisville
    • Neffs Mills
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Donation
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Dungarvin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Seven Stars
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seven Stars have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
      • Seven Stars is located in Huntingdon County
  • Juniata County
  • Lycoming County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Penn Hall, with the one closest to Penn Hall listed first.
    • Antes Fort
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Antes Fort. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antes Fort
      • Antes Fort is located in Lycoming County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Antes Fort
      • From Penn Hall to Antes Fort
    • Collomsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Mifflin County
  • Perry County
  • Snyder County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Penn Hall, with the one closest to Penn Hall listed first.
    • Bannerville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • McClure
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McClure have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClure
      • McClure is located in Snyder County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 919 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McClure <2>
    • Middle Creek
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Troxelville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Troxelville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troxelville
      • Troxelville is located in Snyder County
    • Benfer
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Benfer. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benfer
      • Benfer is located in Snyder County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Benfer
      • From Penn Hall to Benfer
    • Beaver Springs
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Beavertown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beavertown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beavertown
      • Beavertown is located in Snyder County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 958 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Beavertown <2>
    • Paxtonville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Coon Hunter
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Penns Creek
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Penns Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penns Creek
      • Penns Creek is located in Snyder County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Penns Creek <2>
    • Middleburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middleburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleburg
      • Middleburg is located in Snyder County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,262 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Middleburg <2>
    • Globe Mills
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Union County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Penn Hall, with the one closest to Penn Hall listed first.
    • Cherry Run
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cherry Run. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Run
      • Cherry Run is located in Union County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cherry Run
      • From Penn Hall to Cherry Run
    • Glen Iron
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Laurelton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Hartleton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Millmont
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Red Bank
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Mifflinburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mifflinburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mifflinburg
      • Mifflinburg is located in Union County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,445 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mifflinburg <2>
    • New Berlin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Berlin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Berlin
      • New Berlin is located in Union County
      • Estimated population in 2015: 867 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Berlin <2>

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

Cemeteries Near Penn Hall ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Penn Hall.

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 Penn Hall covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Heckman Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Heckman Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Heckman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Paradise Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Paradise Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Paradise Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mountain Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mountain Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mountain Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Union Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Union Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairview Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Union Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Union Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Centre Hill Presbyterian Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Reformed Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Reformed Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Reformed Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodlawn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodlawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Old Salem Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Salem Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Salem Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lick Run Presbyterian Church Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Pauls Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Pauls Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (143 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Penn Hall had a population of 368 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Spring Mills
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Mills
    • Spring Mills is located in Centre County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spring Mills <2>
  • Zerby
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Zerby. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zerby
    • Zerby is located in Centre County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Zerby
    • From Penn Hall to Zerby
  • Farmers Mills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farmers Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmers Mills
    • Farmers Mills is located in Centre County
  • Millheim
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millheim have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millheim
    • Millheim is located in Centre County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 876 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Millheim <2>
  • Madisonburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Madisonburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madisonburg
    • Madisonburg is located in Centre County
  • Centre Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Potters Mills
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Coburn
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Ingleby
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Aaronsburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aaronsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aaronsburg
    • Aaronsburg is located in Centre County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Aaronsburg <2>
  • Centre Hall
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Tusseyville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tusseyville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tusseyville
    • Tusseyville is located in Centre County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Hublersburg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hublersburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hublersburg
      • Hublersburg is located in Centre County
    • Poe Mills
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poe Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poe Mills
      • Poe Mills is located in Centre County
    • Zion
      (7 miles [11.3 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 Penn Hall. See our List of 1890's Communities around Penn Hall.

Newspapers Published in Penn Hall ...

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 Penn Hall.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Penn Hall, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Penn Hall.

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 Penn Hall:

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

The official website for Commonwealth 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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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- Penn Hall) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Penn Hall. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.8610, Longitude: -77.5583    
<5>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.
<6>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 Penn Hall, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025