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 Petersburg (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 Petersburg. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Petersburg is located in Mercer 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 Mercer County: Mahoning (OH), Trumbull (OH), Butler, Crawford, Lawrence & Venango.
Below are the counties that are near Petersburg. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Petersburg:
- Mercer County (The home county of Petersburg)
- The following are listed by their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Sheakleyville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Sheakleyville is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheakleyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
- Hadley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Salem
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Salem is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
- Clarks Mills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Clarks Mills is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarks Mills
- Kashner
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Kashner is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kashner
- Kennard
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Kennard is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kennard
- Leechs Corners
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Leechs Corners is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leechs Corners
- Osgood
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Osgood is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osgood
- New Vernon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- New Vernon is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Vernon
- Kremis
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Kremis is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kremis
- Greenville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Fredonia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Shenango
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Shenango is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shenango
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Harrisville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Forestville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Forestville is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forestville
- Slippery Rock
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Branchton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Branchton is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchton
- Murrinsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Murrinsville is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murrinsville
- Bovard
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bovard is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bovard
- Cherry Valley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cherry Valley is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Valley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 62 people
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Atlantic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Atlantic is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlantic
- Adamsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Adamsville is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
- Geneva
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Geneva is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
- Hartstown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Hartstown is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartstown
- Conneaut Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Cochranton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pymatuning South
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pymatuning South is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pymatuning South
- Turnersville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Turnersville is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnersville
- Turner
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Turner is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turner
- Lynces Junction
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Lynces Junction is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynces Junction
- Fredericksburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Fredericksburg is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredericksburg
- Kerrtown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Kerrtown is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerrtown
- Meadville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Erie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Pennside
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Pennside is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennside
- Edinboro
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Keepville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Keepville is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keepville
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- New Wilmington
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Volant
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Pulaski
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Pulaski is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulaski
- Nashua
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Nashua is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashua
- New Bedford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- New Bedford is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bedford
- Harlansburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Harlansburg is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlansburg
- McCaslin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- McCaslin is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCaslin
- Edinburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- New Castle
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Oakwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Oakwood is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
- West New Castle
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- West New Castle is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West New Castle
- Robinson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Robinson is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
- Venango County
- The following are listed by their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Utica
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Utica is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utica
- Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
- Henderson Station
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Henderson Station is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henderson Station
- Polk
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Polk is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polk
- Population from the 2020 Census: 768 people
- Nicklin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Nicklin is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicklin
- Sugarcreek
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Sugarcreek is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugarcreek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,868 people
- Wilson Mills
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Wilson Mills is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson Mills
- Cooperstown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Cooperstown is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooperstown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 417 people
- Pearl
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Pearl is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl
- Uniontown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Uniontown is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
- Franklin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Barkeyville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bullion
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bullion is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullion
- Nectarine
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Nectarine is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nectarine
- York County
- Adamsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Adamsville is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
- Ashtabula County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Simons
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Simons is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simons
- Stanhope
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Stanhope is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanhope
- Andover
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- West Williamsfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- West Williamsfield is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Williamsfield
- West Andover
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- West Andover is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Andover
- Wick
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Wick is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wick
- Richmond Center
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Richmond Center is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond Center
- Dorset
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Colebrook
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Colebrook is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colebrook
- Gould
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Gould is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould
- New Lyme
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- New Lyme is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lyme
- Rowenton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Rowenton is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowenton
- Dodgeville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Dodgeville is located in Ashtabula County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodgeville
- Mahoning County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Campbell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hazelton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hazelton is located in Mahoning County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelton
- Trumbull County (OH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Superior ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Superior is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Superior
- Five Points
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Five Points is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
- Orangeville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Orangeville is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orangeville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Vernon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Vernon is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
- Burghill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Kinsman
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Hartford
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Hartford is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
- Weldon
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Weldon is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weldon
- West Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- West Hill is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hill
- Barclay
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Barclay is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barclay
- Brookfield Center
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Brookfield Center is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield Center
- Yankee Lake
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Yankee Lake is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yankee Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 74 people
- Gustavus
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Gustavus is located in Trumbull County (OH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gustavus
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Petersburg, see our County-by-County Page for Petersburg.
Cemeteries Near Petersburg ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Petersburg.
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 Petersburg - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Petersburg covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Freeland Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Sheakleyville Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Salem Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Long Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Stevenson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Perry Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Caldwell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Busch Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Hood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Shenango Valley Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Peterson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (269 more) ...
- St. Michaels Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Delaware Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Millbank Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millbank Cemetery
- The Millbank Cemetery has also been known as:
- Fredonia Cemetery
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 Petersburg in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Petersburg.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Petersburg, with the one closest to Petersburg listed first.
- Hadley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Sheakleyville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Sheakleyville is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheakleyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
- Osborn
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Osborn is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osborn
- Salem
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Salem is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
- Kashner
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Kashner is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kashner
- Five Points
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Five Points is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
- Clarks Mills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Clarks Mills is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarks Mills
- Kennard
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Kennard is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kennard
- Leechs Corners
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Leechs Corners is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leechs Corners
- Osgood
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Osgood is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osgood
- Kremis
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Kremis is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kremis
- New Vernon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- New Vernon is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Vernon
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Atlantic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Atlantic is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlantic
- Greenville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Adamsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Adamsville is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Petersburg. See our List of 1890's Communities around Petersburg.
Newspapers Published in Petersburg ...
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 136 newspapers that have been published in the area around Petersburg.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Petersburg, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Petersburg.
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 Petersburg:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Mercer County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Butler County
- Crawford County
- Erie County
- Lawrence County
- Venango County
- York County
- Ashtabula County
- Mahoning County
- Trumbull 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 Petersburg, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Petersburg) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |