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 Ridge (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 Ridge. 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 Ridge ...
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 occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Penn Ridge: Penn Rdg. (or less commonly used: Penn Rdge. or Penn Ridg.)
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.
Penn Ridge 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 Penn Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Penn Ridge:
- Allegheny County (The home county of Penn Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Penn Ridge, with the one closest to Penn Ridge listed first.
- Universal
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Universal is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Universal
- Unity
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Unity is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unity
- Penn Hills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Garden City
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Garden City is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Churchill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Churchill is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churchill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,902 people
- Leechburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Leechburg is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leechburg
- New Texas
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- New Texas is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Texas
- Blawnox
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Chalfant
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Chalfant is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalfant
- Population from the 2020 Census: 765 people
- Monroeville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Braddock Hills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Braddock Hills is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braddock Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,772 people
- Forest Hills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Forest Hills is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,256 people
- Nadine
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Nadine is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nadine
- Armstrong County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penn Ridge, with the one closest to Penn Ridge listed first.
- Apollo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Freeport
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Leechburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- North Apollo
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Edmon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Edmon is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmon
- Aladdin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Aladdin is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aladdin
- Orchard Hills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Orchard Hills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
- Spring Church
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- McVille
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- McVille is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McVille
- Neale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Neale is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neale
- Olivet
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Olivet is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivet
- Slate Lick
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Slate Lick is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slate Lick
- Cochrans Mills
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Cochrans Mills is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrans Mills
- Beaver County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penn Ridge, with the one closest to Penn Ridge listed first.
- Economy
(23 miles [37 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
- Ambridge
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- South Heights
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- South Heights is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 437 people
- Baden
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Wallace City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Wallace City is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallace City
- Aliquippa
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Knob
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Knob is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knob
- Crestmont Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Crestmont Village is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crestmont Village
- Gringo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Gringo is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gringo
- Conway
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- New Sheffield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- New Sheffield is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Sheffield
- Freedom
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- East Rochester
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- East Rochester is located in Beaver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Rochester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 526 people
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penn Ridge, with the one closest to Penn Ridge listed first.
- Ekastown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Ekastown is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ekastown
- Monroe
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Monroe is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
- Valencia
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Glade Mills
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Glade Mills is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade Mills
- Saxonburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Mars
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Frazier Mill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Frazier Mill is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazier Mill
- Leasureville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Leasureville is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leasureville
- Seven Fields
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Seven Fields is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Fields
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,740 people
- Fox Run
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Fox Run is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Run
- Myoma
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Myoma is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myoma
- Brownsdale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Brownsdale is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsdale
- Callery
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penn Ridge, with the one closest to Penn Ridge listed first.
- Arnold City
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Arnold City is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold City
- Banning
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Banning is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banning
- Belle Vernon
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Lynnwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Lynnwood is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynnwood
- Brownstown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Brownstown is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownstown
- Fairhope
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Fairhope is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhope
- Whitsett
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Whitsett is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitsett
- Fayette City
(25 miles [40.2 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
- Fuller
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Fuller is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Lynn
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Lynn is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
- Perryopolis
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Redstone
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Redstone is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redstone
- Kenneth
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Kenneth is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenneth
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penn Ridge, with the one closest to Penn Ridge listed first.
- White
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- White is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
- Bow
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Bow is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow
- Clarksburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Saltsburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- West Lebanon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- West Lebanon is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lebanon
- Jacksonville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Jacksonville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonville
- Parkwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Parkwood is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
- Aultman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Aultman is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aultman
- Blairsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Shelocta
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penn Ridge, with the one closest to Penn Ridge listed first.
- Ellsworth
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ellsworth is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellsworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 960 people
- Finleyville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Gastonville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Gastonville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gastonville
- Black Diamond
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Black Diamond is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Diamond
- Monongahela
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- New Eagle
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Riverview
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Riverview is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
- McMurray
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Thompsonville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Thompsonville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompsonville
- Donora
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Baidland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Baidland is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baidland
- Charleroi
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Gilkeson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Gilkeson is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilkeson
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Penn Ridge, with the one closest to Penn Ridge listed first.
- Murrysville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Parnassus
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Parnassus is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnassus
- Trafford
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- New Kensington
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Franklin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Franklin is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Arnold
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Lower Burrell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Larimer
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Larimer is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larimer
- Export
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- North Irwin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- North Irwin is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Irwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Harrison City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Irwin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- 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>
- Manor
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Manor is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manor
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,322 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manor <1>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Penn Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for Penn Ridge.
Cemeteries Near Penn Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Penn Ridge.
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 Penn Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Penn Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Penn Ridge, with the one closest to Penn Ridge listed first.
- Mt. Hope Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Hebron Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- St. Nicholas Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Beulah Presbyterian Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- William Penn Gardens of Remembrance
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Churchill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Crossroads Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Richey Family Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Temple Sinai Memorial Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- St. John The Baptist Catholic Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Sons of Israel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (430 more) ...
- Oakmont - Verona Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Restland Memorial Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
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 Penn Ridge in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Penn Ridge.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Penn Ridge, with the one closest to Penn Ridge listed first.
- Unity
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Unity is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unity
- Sandy Creek
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Sandy Creek is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Creek
- Wilkinsburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Monroeville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Verona
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- New Texas
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- New Texas is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Texas
- Nadine
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Nadine is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nadine
- Swissvale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Turtle Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Wilmerding
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Oakmont
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Brushton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Brushton is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushton
- Continue List (20 more) ...
- Whitaker
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Braddock
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Bessemer
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Bessemer is located in Allegheny County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bessemer
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Penn Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Penn Ridge.
Newspapers Published in Penn Ridge ...
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 74 newspapers that have been published in the area around Penn Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Penn Ridge, 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 Penn Ridge.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Penn Ridge:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Allegheny County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Armstrong County
- Beaver County
- Butler County
- Fayette 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 Penn Ridge, 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- Penn Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |