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 Peru (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 Peru. 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.
Peru is located in Centre 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 Centre County: Blair, Cambria, Clearfield, Clinton, Huntingdon, Mifflin & Union.
Below are the counties that are near Peru. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Peru:
- Centre County (The home county of Peru)
- The following are listed by their distance from Peru, with the one closest to Peru listed first.
- Pleasant Gap
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Axemann
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Axemann is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Axemann
- Linden Hall
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Linden Hall is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden Hall
- Houserville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Houserville is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houserville
- Centre Hall
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Bellefonte
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Lemont
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Zion
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Zion is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion
- Boalsburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Panorama Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Panorama Village is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panorama Village
- Centre Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Centre Hill is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centre Hill
- Central City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Central City is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central City
- Krumrine
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Krumrine is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Krumrine
- Blair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Peru, with the one closest to Peru listed first.
- Tyrone Forge
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Tyrone Forge is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone Forge
- Tyrone
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Grazierville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Grazierville is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grazierville
- Clearfield County
- The following are listed by their distance from Peru, with the one closest to Peru listed first.
- Kylertown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Chester Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Chester Hill is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 820 people
- Morrisdale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Keewaydin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Keewaydin is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keewaydin
- Pottersdale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pottersdale is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottersdale
- Osceola Mills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- West Decatur
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- West Decatur is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Decatur
- West Decatur has also been known as:
- Blue Ball
- Decatur
- Wallaceton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Wallaceton is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallaceton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
- Shiloh
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Shiloh is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Ashland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Ashland is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Parsonsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Parsonsville is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsonsville
- Brisbin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Brisbin is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brisbin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 385 people
- Clinton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Peru, with the one closest to Peru listed first.
- Abdera
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Abdera is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abdera
- Lamar
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Tylersville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Tylersville is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tylersville
- Cedar Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cedar Springs is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Springs
- Beech Creek
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mill Hall
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Salona
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Salona is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salona
- Greenburr
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Greenburr is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenburr
- Rote
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Rote is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rote
- Flemington
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Flemington is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flemington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,312 people
- Castanea
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Farrandsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Farrandsville is located in Clinton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farrandsville
- Lock Haven
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Huntingdon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Peru, with the one closest to Peru listed first.
- Ennisville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Ennisville is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ennisville
- Neffs Mills
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Neffs Mills is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neffs Mills
- Dungarvin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Dungarvin is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dungarvin
- Donation
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Donation is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donation
- Seven Stars
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Seven Stars is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
- Huntingdon Furnace
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Huntingdon Furnace is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntingdon Furnace
- Pennington
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Pennington is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
- Petersburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Alexandria
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Birmingham
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Birmingham is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
- Water Street
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Water Street is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Street
- Huntingdon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mill Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Juniata County
- The following are listed by their distance from Peru, with the one closest to Peru listed first.
- Mifflin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mifflin is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mifflin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 606 people
- Mifflintown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Doyles Mills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Doyles Mills is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doyles Mills
- McAlisterville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Port Royal
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Reeds Gap
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Reeds Gap is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Gap
- Mexico
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mexico is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexico
- Old Port
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Old Port is located in Juniata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Port
- Mifflin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Peru, with the one closest to Peru listed first.
- Milroy
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Kishacoquillas
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Kishacoquillas is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kishacoquillas
- Honey Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Honey Creek is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
- Lumber City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Lumber City is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumber City
- Reedsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Belleville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Yeagertown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Burnham
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Menno
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Menno is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menno
- Highland Park
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Highland Park is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Park
- Alfarata
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Alfarata is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alfarata
- Lewistown Junction
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lewistown Junction is located in Mifflin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewistown Junction
- Lewistown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Snyder County
- The following are listed by their distance from Peru, with the one closest to Peru listed first.
- Bannerville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Bannerville is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bannerville
- McClure
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Middle Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Middle Creek is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Creek
- Benfer
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Benfer is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benfer
- Troxelville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Troxelville is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troxelville
- Beaver Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Beaver Springs is located in Snyder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Springs
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Peru, with the one closest to Peru listed first.
- Cherry Run
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Cherry Run is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Run
- Pardee
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Pardee is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pardee
- Glen Iron
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Glen Iron is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Iron
- Laurelton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Laurelton is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelton
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Peru, see our County-by-County Page for Peru.
Cemeteries Near Peru ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Peru.
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 Peru - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Peru covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Peru, with the one closest to Peru listed first.
- Shiloh Lutheran Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh Lutheran Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Shiloh Lutheran Church Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of State College.
- The Shiloh Lutheran Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Shiloh Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1885601 <2>
- Centre County Memorial Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Benner Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Union Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Cemetery
- The Union Cemetery has also been known as:
- Bellefonte City Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #46531 <2>
- Meyer Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Slab Cabin Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Trcziyulny Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Centre Hill Presbyterian Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Union Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Oak Ridge Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Hall Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (173 more) ...
- Campbell Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Lick Run Presbyterian Church Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Schencks Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 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.<4>
While we didn't find Peru in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Peru.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Peru, with the one closest to Peru listed first.
- Dale Summit
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Dale Summit is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale Summit
- Pleasant Gap
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Axemann
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Axemann is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Axemann
- Houserville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Houserville is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houserville
- Linden Hall
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Linden Hall is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden Hall
- Centre Hall
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Bellefonte
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Boalsburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Zion
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Zion is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion
- Fillmore
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Fillmore is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fillmore
- Krumrine
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Krumrine is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Krumrine
- Tusseyville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Tusseyville is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tusseyville
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Centre Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Centre Hill is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centre Hill
- Wingate
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wingate is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wingate
- Unionville
(6 miles [9.7 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 Peru. See our List of 1890's Communities around Peru.
Newspapers Published in Peru ...
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 75 newspapers that have been published in the area around Peru.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Peru, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Peru.
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 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 Peru:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Centre County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blair County
- Clearfield County
- Clinton County
- Huntingdon County
- Juniata County
- Mifflin County
- Snyder County
- Union 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> | 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 from Point A (ie- Peru) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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 Peru, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |